[Onthebarricades] IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN, Aug-Sept 2008

Thu Sep 10 21:32:47 PDT 2009

IRAQ

* Deadly US airstrike sparks protests
* Sadr movement launches mass protests against occupation
* Fallujah - protest over lack of services
* Jalawlaa - clash between police and Kurdish militia
* Khanaqin residents protest military presence, force army withdrawal
* Arabs and Turkmen protest Kurdish demands in Kirkuk
* US - IRAQ: Protesters fear for Iranians in Iraq
* Dahuk - Iraqi Christians protest restrictions
* Karbala - protest supports operations chief

AFGHANISTAN
* Herat - Villagers protest air strike deaths
* Kabul - Afghans protest killings by troops

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/19/africa/20iraq.5.php

Deadly U.S. airstrike sparks protests in Iraq

By Stephen Farrell
Published: September 19, 2008

BAGHDAD: Iraqis protested the deaths of at least seven people during an 
American air strike in northern Iraq on Friday, in the town where Saddam 
Hussein was captured in 2003.
Americans say the raid successfully singled out a senior operative of Al 
Qaeda in Iraq who was suspected of involvement in bombing attacks along 
the Tigris river valley.
But Iraqi officials said the strike used excessive force in killing 
eight members of one family, whose innocence they protested. They 
accused the Americans of shooting down men and women from the air as 
they fled. The Americans say seven were killed.
The deaths come at a sensitive time for the American government, as it 
tries to negotiate a security agreement with Iraq, which is eager to 
exert tighter controls over American troops who remain in the country.
An American military statement said that coalition forces went to Ad 
Dawr in Salahuddin Province after receiving intelligence that the wanted 
man was in the small Sunni town, which lies 130 kilometers, or 80 miles, 
north of Baghdad, near Saddam Hussein's former stronghold of Tikrit.
It said the target was an "emir" in the bombing network of Al Qaeda in 
Mesopotamia, known to the Americans as AQI.
Iraqi officials said the dead were all from one family: five men in 
their twenties and thirties and three women aged between 20 and 58.
Abdul Karim Khalil Ibrahim, 51, a relative, said that he watched the 
raid take place from his house.
"The American forces surrounded my cousin's house then they bombed it," 
he said. "I was watching from my roof through a hole in the wall. The 
American forces lit the place with flashlights. I saw my cousin with his 
wife escape from the back yard, when the American helicopter shot them 
and killed them immediately."
American officials said that four men and three women were killed, but 
justified the use of air power in the operation.
"After arriving at the target, forces surrounded the building and called 
for its occupants to surrender. Despite nearly an hour of multiple calls 
and warnings that the force would engage them, the individuals inside 
refused to come out," said the statement.
"An armed man appeared in the doorway, and coalition forces, perceiving 
hostile intent based on the man's actions, engaged him.
Later he was determined to be the suspected terrorist. During the 
operation, and in accordance with applicable rules, supporting aircraft 
engaged and killed three additional terrorist suspects. Three women were 
also killed."
They said an Iraqi child was rescued from the rubble by coalition forces 
and taken to a nearby base for medical treatment.
Colonel Jerry O'Hara, an American military spokesman in Baghdad, said:
"Sadly, this incident again shows that the AQI terrorists repeatedly 
risk the lives of innocent women and children to further their evil work."
After the attack, 400 protesters gathered at the site demonstrating 
peacefully against the raid, and marched to the cemetery for the funeral.
Abdullah Hussein Jibara, the deputy governor of Salahuddin Province said 
he did not accept the initial explanations offered by the Americans to 
the Iraqi police in Ad Dwar and said that they should have carried out 
more checks before the bombing.
"I condemn the random targeting of civilians and the excessive use of 
force against civilians," he said. "It was better to use another method 
to avoid losses; this is the third incident during the past two months," 
he said.
Fares Khatab, a sheik of the family's tribe, said that the family had 
fled to Ad Dwar from their home in Baghdad to escape the violence in the 
capital. "This family is an innocent family," he said.
An Iraqi employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Ad 
Dawr, Iraq.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/05/200861422829912594.html

Iraq set for anti-US protests

Muqtada al-Sadr has called for protests unless the
government abandons the deal [AFP]

Protests are expected to get under way in Iraq against a deal between 
Baghdad and Washington over the US's long-term military role in the country.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for the 
demonstrations after Friday prayers to pressure the Iraqi government 
into abandoning the proposed agreement.
Washington wants the Iraqi government to provide a legal framework for 
US troops to remain in Iraq beyond the expiration of a UN mandate in 
December.

Officials from the administration of George Bush, the US president, told 
Al Jazeera they expect to finalise the deal by the end of July.
Sheikh Salah Obaidi, spokesman for al-Sadr's bloc in parliament, said 
the call for protests is not a "threat" to the Iraqi government, but a 
"warning".

Al-Sadr on Tuesday warned the government against signing the agreement, 
saying "it is against the interests of the Iraqi people".

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, another key Shia leader, spoke out against the 
agreement, saying it would violate Iraq's sovereignty.

Last week Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia 
cleric, also reportedly expressed his anger, saying he would not permit 
the Iraqi government to sign a deal with "US occupiers" as long as he lived.

'No permanent bases'

The US government has said it will not seek permanent bases in Iraq.

David Satterfield, a senior advisor on Iraq at the US state department, 
told Al Jazeera that the so-called Status of Forces agreement (Sofa) 
with Baghdad would address the issue.

"The Sofa agreement and the strategic frameworks agreement will make 
explicit that there is no desire for, indeed there is a rejection of 
permanent bases. We could not be clearer on this point," he said.

"We do not believe that there is a need for such bases."

Satterfield said that the US was conducting the negotiations with 
representatives of all the main leaders in Iraq.

'Iraq's need'

Samir al-Sumaida'ie, the Iraqi ambassador to the US, said the agreement 
was not intended to "tie the hands of any future government in Iraq or 
any future administration in the US".

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"It's a matter of the current need of Iraq," he said.

"Our obligation to our people is to protect their interests, the 
obligation of the US government is to protect the Americans.

"Where these interests coincide, then we can reach agreement."

Any prospective agreement can also be terminated two years after either 
party decides to do so, al-Sumaida'ie said.

However, in the US, the House of Representatives has adopted a 
bipartisan amendment requiring congressional approval for any proposed 
military accord with Iraq.

The move could prevent George Bush from approving the deal only months 
before leaving office.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L594200.htm

Sadr supporters protest against US presence in Iraq
05 Sep 2008 14:49:25 GMT
Source: Reuters
BAGHDAD, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of Shi'ites protested against the 
U.S. presence in Iraq, heeding orders from anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada 
al-Sadr for a peaceful show of force on the first Friday of the Muslim 
holy month of Ramadan.
Crowds of people waved photos of the reclusive cleric, dancing and 
shouting, following Friday prayers in Sadr City, a Shi'ite stronghold in 
northeastern Baghdad.
Several men burned a red, white and blue flag as they pledged support 
for the reclusive Sadr.
"We all support you, Sayyid Moqtada! We are your soldiers!" they 
shouted, addressing Sadr by a title of respect.
In the southern holy city of Najaf, several hundred protesters turned 
out for a parallel protest. "No, no to occupation!" read one banner.
Late last month, Sadr extended indefinitely a ceasefire for the Mehdi 
Army, the feared militia that until a government crackdown earlier this 
year controlled Sadr City and swathes of southern Iraq.
The cleric, who is believed to be holed up in the Iranian city of Qom, 
has asked the bulk of his followers to dedicate themselves to helping 
poor Shi'ites and countering western influence in Iraq. He also ordered 
Friday's protests.
The question as violence drops sharply across Iraq is whether the bulk 
of Sadr's militia will obey orders to put down their arms.
In Sadr City, Imam Muhenned al-Moussawi addressed the thousands of men 
and boys gathered for prayers under the blistering summer sun.
"Everybody knows that the goals of American wars are commercial. They 
use war to drain desperate nations economically and socially," he told 
the crowd.
The protests came as attention focused on the future of the U.S. troop 
presence in Iraq, and the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri 
al-Maliki sought assurances from Washington about gradually reducing its 
military activities in the country.
Pentagon sources said this week they were recommending the withdrawal of 
one combat brigade, 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, in early 2009, a move that 
reflects both improving conditions in Iraq and growing needs in Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Sattar Rahim in Baghdad; writing by Missy Ryan)

http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?s=c0dcaaf29ba74076df03bf8b36d46936&p=704657#post704657

9/05/08

Fallujah residents are demonstrating to protest the lack of services

Citizens demonstrated in the district of Fallujah, 50 kilometers west of 
Baghdad, today, Friday, in protest against lack of essential services, 
the demonstrators demanded the Iraqi government to hold accountable 
those responsible for negligence and disqualification from office.

The demonstration began in front of the mosque spoiled district 
officers, following Friday prayers, and roamed the streets of the city 
nearly an hour and a half hours, during which slogans echoed by 
demonstrators denouncing what they considered a disregard for their 
demands by the local council.

The Chairman of the Board of Scholars of Fallujah, Sheikh radioactive 
Isawi in an interview with "Uzmatik" that "the demonstrators demanded 
that officials in Fallujah to fulfilling their promises and obligations 
towards the inhabitants of their city by providing water, electricity, 
oil and gas."
He added Sheikh Isawi today, Friday, "The survival of Fallujah contacted 
several times asking him to respond to the needs of citizens, especially 
the problem of water break but I did not get only promises."

He said the citizen, Abdullah Hussein, 44 years old, "We have been 
suffering from electricity blackouts in more than two months at a time 
when the disposal of millions of dollars on projects and illusory, and 
the citizen victim of a lack of services."

For his part, called for the citizen, Mohamed Gomaa, 38 years old, 
"Iraqi government officials for negligence in the disqualification of 
their work and to hold a shrine, members of the Fallujah local council 
due to meet the necessary services to citizens."

He added Juma Mohammad valuable an interview with "Uzmatik" "We have 
been suffering from lack of water, gas, electricity, oil and gasoline, 
and provided several complaints to the local council and a shrine of 
Fallujah several months ago but without the benefit."

It is noteworthy that the town of Fallujah's Anbar province has suffered 
over the past five years more than other regions because of the violence 
and military operations launched by the joint forces against the armed 
groups even expulsion from the boards before awakening. No city is 
witnessing intensive reconstruction operations or external investments 
so that the security situation is still subjected to violations.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/articles/article_1433444.php/Policeman_and_a_KDP_member_killed_in_clashes_

2 killed in clashes between policemen, KDP supporters in Jalawlaa
September 27, 2008 - 01:05:08
DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A policeman and a member of the Kurdistan 
Democratic Party were killed and two policemen others wounded in armed 
clashes between Emergency Police personnel and gunmen from the 
autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani’s KDP in 
Jalawlaa on Saturday, a security source said.
“An Emergency Police Force raided a KDP headquarters in Jalawlaa city on 
Saturday and arrested two of its members,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq 
on customary condition of anonymity most likely because he was not 
authorized to speak to the media.
“Later on, a delegation from the KDP headed to the Emergency Police HQ 
to liberate the two arrested men, but clashes erupted, leaving a KDP 
member and a policeman killed and two policemen others wounded,” the 
source added.
Aswat al-Iraq contacted Amer Rifaat, the official in charge of the KDP 
in the area, who vouched for the reported news.
“The party has sent a delegation to see why their colleagues were 
arrested but the matter has developed into clashes,” said Rifaat.
The area has been witnessing a lot of tension for a month now due to the 
Kurdish leaders’ rejection to have Iraqi army units deployed there on 
the grounds that these areas were safe Kurdish territories that enjoy 
the protection of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Jalawlaa belongs to the disputed district of Khanaqin.
Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of 
Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km 
northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers 
(6,828 sq mi). In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in 
an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the 
Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007.
Later on, the Iraqi security forces had launched a wide-scale security 
campaign in Diala province. The operation, codenamed Bashaer al-Kheir 
(Promise of Good), is aimed at tracking down members of al-Qaeda network 
in Diala, Iraq’s most restive city, after the armed group lost its 
strongholds in the western Iraq predominantly Sunni province of 
al-Anbar, where tribesmen fought its members and flushed them out of the 
city.
AmR (S)

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/articles/article_1433444.php/Policeman_and_a_KDP_member_killed_in_clashes_

Policeman and a KDP member killed in clashes
Middle East News
Sep 27, 2008, 14:41 GMT
Baghdad - A policeman and a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party 
(KDP) were killed on Saturday in armed clashes north-east of Baghdad, 
security sources said.
The fighting broke out when Emergency Police officers raided KDP 
headquarters in the city of Jalawlaa, some 125 kilometres north-east of 
Baghdad in the tense Khanaqin district in Diyala province and arrested 
two of the KDP's members.
A group from the KDP headed to the Emergency Police headquarters to 
liberate the two arrested men, but clashes erupted, leaving a KDP member 
and a policeman killed. Two policemen were wounded.
Khanaqin district has been rife with tension since late August when 
Iraqi army units were deployed there to bolster security.
Kurdish leaders rejected the Iraqi army operation, arguing that the area 
was Kurdish and therefore under the protection of the Kurdistan Regional 
Government (KRG).
Iraqi forces withdrew from Khanaqin a week later after an agreement 
between the Kurdish government and the Iraqi central government.

http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/35675

Khanaqin residents protest military presence

Diala, 26 August 2008 ( Voices of Iraq )
Thousands of residents of Khanaqin staged a demonstration protesting the 
presence of an Iraqi force in the district and the setting up of several 
checkpoints there, according to the district mayor on Tuesday.
"The demonstrators, who gathered in front of the mayoralty building, 
submitted a memo of protest in which they demanded the exit of the force 
from the district, where security conditions are stable," Muhammad Mulla 
Hasan told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
For his part, Mulla Bakhtyar, a member of the Patriotic Union of 
Kurdistan (PUK) politburo, told VOI "political motives were behind the 
Iraqi army forces' entry into the district," not giving more details.
The Khanaqin municipal council chief, Sameer Muhammad, said during the 
demonstration that the measure was "a red line and will get a response 
from the masses".
The autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan government had set up the Kermyan 
administration to run the districts of Khanaqin, 155 km northeast of 
Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, and Kafri, Klar and Jamjamal.
The Iraqi forces, with logistical support from the U.S. forces, have 
launched a large-scale security campaign in July codenamed Bashaer 
al-Kheir (Promise of Good) in a number of cities and districts of Diala 
with the aim of eliminating armed groups active in those areas.
The operation has recently advanced to areas belonging to Khanaqin 
district, where the Kurdish peshmerga forces withdrew from the districts 
of Qara Taba and Jalawlaa through an agreement between the Kurdish 
authorities and the central government in Baghdad.
Khanaqin is one of the areas subject to dispute between the two sides 
pending a hoped-for solution is reached over it through the application 
of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to the normalization of 
the situation in Kirkuk city and other disputed areas. It calls for 
conducting a census to be followed by a referendum to let the 
inhabitants decide whether they would like Kirkuk to be annexed to the 
autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region or having it as an independent province.
These stages were supposed to end on December 31, 2007, a deadline that 
was later extended to six months to end in July 2008.
The former regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had forced over 
250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their homes to Arabs in the 1970s 
in a bid to "Arabize" the city and the region's oil industry.
Kurds, however, seek to include the city in the autonomous Iraq's 
Kurdistan region, while Sunni Muslims, Turkmen and Shiites oppose the 
incorporation. The article currently stipulates that all Arabs in Kirkuk 
be returned to their original locations in southern and central Iraqi 
areas, and formerly displaced residents returned to Kirkuk.
The article also calls for conducting a census to be followed by a 
referendum to let the inhabitants decide whether they would like Kirkuk 
to be annexed to the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region or having it as 
an independent province.
Kirkuk, 250 km (156 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, sits on 
the ruins of a 5,000-year-old settlement. Because of the strategic 
geographical location of the city, Kirkuk was the battle ground for 
three empires, Assyria, Babylonia and Media which controlled the city at 
various times.
Kirkuk is the centre of the northern Iraqi petroleum industry. It is a 
historically and ethnically mixed city populated by Assyrians, Kurds, 
Arabs and Iraqi Turkmen. The population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2008.

http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/35710

Khaniqin needs services, not the Iraqi army, protesters

London, 27 August 2008 ( KurdishMedia )
After the Iraqi army decided to occupy Kurdistani ares of the 
governorate of Diyala, a complex situation has risen which Kurdistanis 
felt that this is the first test of the new Iraqi government to reduce 
the Kurdistan authorities power and undermine Kurdistani achievements.
The situation developed to a point where some media outlets and 
observers described it as “explosive”.
Today, the local media reported, over 10,000 people protested in 
Khanaqin against the Iraqi army occupation, chanting, “Khaniqin needs 
services, not the Iraqi army.” The protesters demanded the retreat of 
the Iraqi army from the Kurdistan areas of Diyala.

http://www.kurdishglobe.net/displayArticle.jsp?id=329E94738A6B079AFB721F0E2716F4B6

Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 03:36 EDT
Iraqi army withdraws after Khanaqin demonstration

Thousands of people, Kurds, Turkmens, and Arabs in the town of Khanaqin 
demonstrated on Tuesday to protest the deployment of Iraqi forces there.

By Qassim Khidhir
The Kurdish Globe
Residents of the town stand together against the presence of the Iraqi army.
"The Iraqi army is not in a position to confront Peshmerga forces; 
Peshmerga forces are far and away stronger than the Iraqi army."- Anwar 
Hajji Osman, acting Peshmerga Minister

"There are political reasons behind the entry of Iraqi forces, who 
entered with the pretext of hunting down gunmen in the area that is 
considered one of the most stable areas in Iraq," said Khanaqin Mayor 
Mala Hassan.

Thousands of people, Kurds, Turkmens, and Arabs in the town of Khanaqin 
demonstrated on Tuesday to protest the deployment of Iraqi forces there.

The demonstrators carried slogans demanding respect for the will of 
Khanaqin citizens and the implementation of Article 140.

An organizer of the demonstrations, Salar Mahmud, said, "We think the 
military crackdown in Diyala province is politically aimed against the 
will of the Kurdish area residents, because it interferes in the 
administrational affairs of Kurdish organizations and parties. These 
military forces should be deployed to control areas affected by 
terrorism, not to show their power in front of the Kurdish people. We 
refuse the existence of the forces that make no difference between 
peaceful citizens and terrorists."

The demonstration was supervised by Mala Bakhtiyar, a member of the PUK 
politburo and representative for the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region presidents.

Bakhtiyar said that the Kurdish leadership wants to find a peaceful 
solution to the tensions that occurred. He pointed out that the 
Peshmerga forces deployed in the area are part of the Iraqi forces and 
play a crucial role in combating terror throughout Iraq.

Mayor Hassan said the Iraqi forces withdrew from the district of 
Khanaqin after the demonstration.

"A force from the Iraqi army withdrew from the Khanaqin district gates 
while the rest are currently withdrawing," he said.

The Iraqi forces, with logistical support from U.S. forces, have 
launched a large-scale security campaign in July codenamed Bashaer 
al-Kheir (Promise of Good) in a number of cities and districts of Diyala 
with the aim of eliminating armed groups active in those areas.

The operation has recently advanced to areas belonging to Khanaqin 
district, where the Kurdish Peshmerga forces withdrew from the districts 
of Qara Tapa and Jalawlaa through an agreement between the Kurdish 
authorities and the central government in Baghdad.

Khanaqin is a disputed area seeking a solution through the 
implementation of Article 140.

A Peshmerga source stated that their forces in the Khanaqin area are on 
alert for any unusual incidents. Anwar Hajji Osman, acting Peshmerga 
Minister, explained that when the Iraqi army began the operation in 
Diyala province with 27,000 soldiers and 400 U.S.-made Humvee, the 
Peshmerga forces noticed that the Iraqi army's main goal was to control 
areas inhabited by Kurds and disturb the Peshmerga and Kurdish political 
parties.

Osman said he was informed by Kurdish leadership that Kurdish leaders 
want to solve the issue peacefully through dialogue. "The Iraqi army is 
not in a position to confront Peshmerga forces; Peshmerga forces are far 
and away stronger than the Iraqi army," he said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/03/MNOM124B0M.DTL

Arabs and Turkomans protest Kurdish demands to control oil-rich Iraqi city
Parliament holding special session today to resolve standoff
Robert H. Reid, Associated Press
Sunday, August 3, 2008
______________________________
(08-03) 04:00 PST Baghdad --
More than 1,000 Sunni Arabs and Turkomans rallied Saturday against 
Kurdish demands to incorporate the oil-rich area around Kirkuk into 
their autonomous region, on the eve of a special session of parliament 
aimed at defusing the crisis.
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The dispute over Kirkuk and its vast oil wealth has blocked passage of 
legislation providing for provincial elections this year, a major U.S. 
goal aimed at reconciling Iraq's rival ethnic and religious communities.
Protesters in the town of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, carried banners 
rejecting Kurdish demands for control of Kirkuk, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat 
Qadir of the Kirkuk police.
The rally ended without any violence, but residents said the atmosphere 
was tense in Kirkuk, where a suicide bomber killed 25 people Monday 
during a Kurdish protest.
Last month, Iraq's parliament approved legislation to hold elections for 
local councils in all 18 provinces, including Tamim, where Kirkuk is 
located.
The measure said seats on the ruling council in the Kirkuk area should 
be divided equally among Kurds, Turkomans and Arabs. It would also 
transfer security responsibilities in Kirkuk to mostly Arab military 
units brought from central and southern Iraq instead of those already 
there - an apparent move against Kurdish peshmerga troops heavily 
deployed in the area.
But Kurds and their allies, who currently hold a majority on the 
council, oppose the power-sharing formula. Iraq's three-member 
presidential council rejected the measure and sent it back to parliament 
after President Jalal Talabani - a Kurd - opposed it.
Parliament adjourned for a one-month summer recess last week but agreed 
to hold a special session today to try to resolve the standoff and 
approve a new election bill. Electoral officials have said failure to 
pass the bill could delay the nationwide vote until next year.
The United Nations has recommended postponing provincial elections in 
Kirkuk as a way of ensuring the balloting elsewhere in the country.
It was unclear, however, whether the Kurds would agree to the U.N. 
proposal. Many Iraqi Arabs and Turkomans believe control of Kirkuk could 
encourage Kurds to declare full independence for their self-ruled region.
Iraqi politicians held meetings Saturday in hopes of narrowing 
differences before today's parliamentary session, but little sign of 
compromise emerged.
Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said the Kurds were strongly opposed to 
the quota system for the council and to bringing in soldiers from 
elsewhere because it cast doubt "on the honesty and the loyalty of the 
current security force in Kirkuk."
The Kurds also were insisting on a clear statement that the law would 
not supersede a constitutional formula providing for a referendum on the 
future of Kirkuk, which has been repeatedly delayed, Othman said.
Sunni Arab legislator Osama al-Nujeifi said his group was unwilling to 
make concessions over Kirkuk and accused the Kurds of trying to 
"marginalize any other ethnic group, control Kirkuk and annex it to 
Kurdistan."
"The situation is very tense there," Sadettin Ergenc, head of the Iraqi 
Turkoman Front, said of Kirkuk. "The Kurds want to lay bricks for an 
independent state, but escalating tensions will not bring any good to 
anyone."
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan called Iraqi Foreign Minister 
Hoshyar Zebari on Friday to express concern over Kirkuk and the status 
of the city's Turkoman minority, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
Iraqi Kurds have long considered Kirkuk rightfully theirs - a claim 
challenged by many Arabs and Turkomans.
Also Saturday, police said four members of the U.S.-allied Sunni 
fighters were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Diyala province, where 
U.S. and Iraqi forces recently launched military operations against al 
Qaeda in Iraq.
A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed another U.S.-backed Sunni fighter and 
wounded two others, police said.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/09/nation/na-iranians9

Archive for Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Protesters fear for Iranians in Iraq
Hundreds rally at the White House against U.S. plans to give control of 
a dissident camp to Iraq. They believe members of the militant 
opposition group Mujahedin Khalq could be sent back to Iran.
By Cynthia Dizikes
September 09, 2008 in print edition A-8
Hundreds of people rallied outside the White House on Monday to protest 
U.S. plans to give the Iraqi government control of a camp housing 
Iranian dissidents, a step they said could lead to a humanitarian disaster.
The demonstrators, who included about 200 Iranian Americans from 
California, said the move would put camp residents in danger of being 
expelled to Iran, where they could face torture and death.
“I am terrified of what will happen to those living in the camp,” said 
Babak Dadvan of Woodland Hills. The activists, who waved green, white 
and red Iranian flags and chanted into portable microphones, have 
traditionally supported the Bush administration’s hard-line approach 
toward Iran. But at Monday’s rally, there was plenty of criticism for 
the U.S. government.
“It is not fair,” said Mojtaba Rassi of San Diego. “The American 
government has an obligation to protect these people. They can’t just 
leave them and go.”
The United States has guarded Camp Ashraf, about 40 miles north of 
Baghdad, since 2003. The camp houses more than 3,000 members of the 
Iranian rebel group Mujahedin Khalq, which agreed to disarm in exchange 
for protection.
Although the group, also referred to as the MEK, is considered a 
terrorist organization in the U.S., Iraq and much of Europe, its members 
in Camp Ashraf are protected under the Geneva Convention, which bans 
extradition or forced repatriation of people who could face torture, 
persecution or death.
“Whenever somebody is transferred or repatriated, the authority in 
charge should make sure the person is going on his or her own free 
will,” said Dorothea Krimitsas, a spokeswoman for the International 
Committee of the Red Cross, one of several human rights groups following 
the situation.
But harboring members of the MEK, which is the largest Iranian 
opposition group, poses a difficult situation for officials in Baghdad, 
who regularly talk with their Iranian counterparts.
Last week, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh announced the 
government’s “intention to impose full sovereignty over the area of Camp 
Ashraf.” It will “deal with members of the organization in a humane way 
according to existing international laws,” he said.
Those who rallied near the White House were skeptical.
“Here is the problem,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, a well-known Iranian 
dissident who heads a national security consulting firm in Washington. 
“Once the U.S. forces leave, this would invite Tehran to attack Camp 
Ashraf, which they have not done up until now because they would be 
attacking America. But once the U.S. moves out, it’s a totally different 
ballgame.”
U.S. forces are preparing for a gradual transfer of security at the 
camp, but a specific date has not been set, according to Navy Lt. 
Patrick Evans, a Multi-National Force spokesman.
“We have received assurances from the government of Iraq that the 
residents of Camp Ashraf will be treated humanely,” he said. “We will 
continue to engage closely with the government of Iraq on this issue.”
The State Department designated the MEK a terrorist organization in 1997 
for its role in the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, 
assassination of U.S. military personnel and civilians, and other acts 
of violence. According to a 2007 State Department report, it was also 
allegedly involved in Saddam Hussein’s 1991 massacre of Iraqi Shiites 
and Kurds.
This May, however, the British government officially removed the group 
from its terrorist list, saying it could find no evidence that the group 
had engaged in or claimed responsibility for acts of violence since 2001 
or 2002.
cynthia.dizikes at latimes.com

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1434479.php/More_than_10000_Iraqi_Christians_protest_in_Iraqs_Dahuk_

More than 10,000 Iraqi Christians protest in Iraq's Dahuk
Middle East News
Oct 2, 2008, 15:29 GMT
Baghdad - More than 10,000 Iraqi Christians demonstrated Thursday in the 
northern Dahuk province, demanding self-rule in their area and 
restoration of a clause in the new elections law that would guarantee 
their representation in provincial councils.
'The demonstrators will present an official memo to the local 
authorities in Dahuk province to back their efforts and help them demand 
the rights of our people,' Jamal Zeno, the chief of the Chaldo-Assyrian 
Popular Council, told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.
He added that they would intensify their efforts to restore Article 50, 
which the Iraqi Parliament removed September 24 during a session to 
adopt a new provincial elections law.
Parliament's decision to remove Article 50, which specifies a quota for 
minorities in provincial councils, has sparked a heated reaction from 
several political blocs representing the country's Christians and other 
minorities.
While the new law sets a fixed quota of 25 per cent for women, it 
snubbed other Iraqi minorities such as Christians and Yazidis.
Some 5,000 Iraqi Christians demonstrated against the change a week ago 
in Nineveh province.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki expressed his concerns on Sunday 
about the removal of the disputed article.
In a statement released by his office, al-Maliki called on parliament 
and the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to address the concerns, 
feelings of injustice and the sense of exclusion felt by some segments 
of Iraqi society.
Iraqi Christians constitute some 636,000 of the Iraqi population. Most 
of them speak an ancient Aramaic dialect. They live in the northern 
provinces of Arbil, Nineveh and Dahuk.
Under the new law, elections will take place in 14 provinces, but not 
three northern Kurdish states and the oil-rich multi-ethnic province of 
Kirkuk.
The new law bans parties from campaigning in mosques and using religious 
figures to get votes.

http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/36966

Protesters in Karbala want operations chief to retain post
Karbala, 23 September 2008 ( Voices of Iraq )
Hundreds of citizens, including tribal chiefs, clerics and women, in 
Karbala staged a march of protest against moving the province’s police 
and operations chief, Raed Shakir Jawdat, to Diala, while the Karbala 
council deputy chief said he received no official notification on the 
transfer.
“The demonstrators protested moving the Karbala operations chief, who 
enjoys a strong personality and managed to entrench security and 
stability in the province,” Sheikh Azeez al-Yasseri, one of the march 
organizers, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
He urged the government to “cancel the decision for the sake of 
maintaining security and stability in the province”.
A female protester said she objected the state decision to move the 
police chief (to Diala). “We have enjoyed security since the day Maj. 
General Jawdat received the operations command in the province,” she said.
“It was he who caught the murderers of my children, who were killed in 
2005,” she added.
An official source in Karbala had told VOI earlier on Monday that 
Jawdat, upon the request of the prime minister, was moved to the 
volatile province of Diala, where he would be required to oversee the 
security operations command.
Jawdat has received in April 2007 the Karbala police command in 
succession of Maj. General Abu al-Waleed. After the Shiite al-Ziyara 
al-Shaabaniya (mid-Shaaban) pilgrimage incidents in August 2007, Jawdat 
took charge of the security operations command.
Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the 
capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ 
holiest cities.
The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, 
profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, 
especially dates.
It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and 
“New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and 
government buildings.
At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein 
Ibn Ali, grandsone of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima 
al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb.
Imam Hussien’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, 
especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many 
elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb 
to be one of the gates to paradise.
On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the 
shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150.

http://story.australianherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/398225/cs/1/

Afghan villagers protest US air strike deaths
Australian Herald
Saturday 23rd August, 2008
Afghan villagers have launched protests against all allied forces after 
claims that 76 civilians, most of them children, were killed in US-led 
air strikes against Taliban rebels.

The US military previously said that only 30 militant fighters had been 
killed in the strikes, but later admitted it was launching 
investigations into civilian deaths.

About 250 villagers gathered in the angry demonstration on Saturday 
night, hurling stones at Afghan troops.

The police chief for western Afghanistan, General Akram Yawar, said his 
officers had fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

Two people were wounded after police were forced back into their compound.

The protests centred around an incident in the village of Azizabad, 
about 120 kilometres south of Herat city, an area which is considered a 
stronghold of Taliban and other militants.

If the death toll from the new incident is confirmed it would be one of 
the highest for civilians in Afghanistan.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1048630/Afghan-protests-erupt-US-jets-kill-76-civilians.html?ITO=1490

Afghan protests erupt after US jets 'kill 76 civilians'
By Mail On Sunday Reporter
Last updated at 12:05 AM on 24th August 2008
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Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai yesterday condemned US-led 
coalition forces for an air strike which he claims killed 76 civilians - 
including women and children.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in the city of Herat in protest.
American officials said they had targeted armed Taliban militants in 
Friday’s air raid after Afghan and coalition forces came under attack 
from insurgents.

Furious Afghans demonstrate after Friday's air strike

The US claimed the strike killed 30 militants, including a Taliban 
commander, and only two civilians had been wounded.
But Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry claimed coalition forces bombarded 
the Shindand district of Herat, killing 76 civilians, including 19 women 
and seven men. It said the rest were children under the age of 15.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said that according 
to initial findings civilians including women and children had been 
killed in the raid but it could not be verified. Investigations by the 
Afghan government and the US military have been launched.
A US military spokesman said: ‘Our reports from our own forces on the 
ground are only, so far, that those killed in the strikes numbered 30 
and they were all militants.’
In a statement the US military said: ‘All allegations of civilian 
casualties are taken very seriously. Coalition forces make every effort 
to prevent the injury or loss of innocent lives. An investigation has 
been directed.’

A woman mourns the death of a relative following the airstrike in 
western Herat province
UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said: ‘It is imperative that we exercise 
caution before jumping to any conclusions.
‘The issue of civilian casualties is so important that it is vital that 
we verify the facts of what has actually happened. It is a matter of 
great concern that we are seeing reports of large numbers of civilian 
casualties. The first rule of any counter-insurgency operation is to do 
no harm.’
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Shindand district yesterday, shouting 
anti-US slogans, after Afghan soldiers arrived in the area to bring aid 
to the victims’ families.
Witness Shah Nawaz said: ‘People didn’t accept the aid and started 
throwing stones at the soldiers, saying the Afghan army is our enemy.
‘We don’t want anything from our enemies.’ He claimed Afghan soldiers 
fired shots into the air and wounded six people after the crowd threw 
stones.
He added: ‘We will continue our demonstration until the international 
community listen to us and bring those who carried out yesterday’s 
attack to justice.’
The demonstrators also shouted anti-US slogans, saying Americans should 
withdraw from the area.

A police vehicle blazes after being set on fire by protesters
According to the United Nations, nearly 700 civilians were killed in 
Afghanistan in the first six months of this year, 255 of them by Afghan 
government and international troops, the rest by Taliban militants.
Meanwhile, Afghan police chief Matiullah Khan said a roadside bomb in 
southern Afghanistan killed ten civilians who were passengers in a small 
bus when the bomb exploded yesterday in the Shah Wali Kot district of 
Kandahar province.
And another roadside bomb killed three more civilians in the Tani 
district of Khost province yesterday.
On Friday a battle between Taliban fighters and Afghan police killed 17 
militants in Helmand province.
More than 3,500 people - mostly militants - have died in 
insurgency-related violence this year.

http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=604765

Afghans protest against continuous civilian death by Int`l troops
Posted: 2008/09/02
From: MNN

Hundreds of citizens in Afghan capital Kabul rushed into streets and 
burnt tires on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway on Monday protesting against 
the death of a Kabuli family caused by the raid of U.S.-led Coalition 
forces.

KABUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The protesters said that three members of a 
family, two children and the father, were killed while the Coalition 
forces in a surprise raid early Monday morning threw grenades on their 
house in Hud Kheil area of eastern Kabul.

Neither NATO troops nor the Coalition forces were available to make 
comments immediately.

The demonstration came after a string of cases resulting civilian 
casualties by international troops in the past month as Afghan 
government's investigating team on Sunday confirmed that 
90non-combatants were killed in the U.S. air raids on Aug. 22 in the 
west Herat province.

Both the Coalition forces and Afghan defense ministry at the beginning 
disputed the claim, saying 25 insurgents and five civilians were killed 
during the raid.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) after investigating 
the case last week confirmed the dead of 90 civilians in the 
bombardments and called on warring sides to respect the rights of 
non-combatants.

Under the escalating pressure and fury of locals, Afghan cabinet has 
called for regulating the authority and responsibilities of 
international troops in the war-torn country after the huge civilian 
casualties in western Herat province.

Conflicts and spiraling insurgency have claimed over 3,200 people's 
lives with more than 800 civilians so far this year.

http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-09/2008-09-01-voa11.cfm?CFID=84601506&CFTOKEN=29564046

Afghans Protest Killing of Family
By VOA News
01 September 2008

Hundreds of Afghans took to the street Monday to protest the killing of 
three family members in an attack the protesters blamed on an early 
morning raid by U.S.-led troops in Kabul.

The U.S.-led coalition denied any involvement in the attack on the 
family's house.

Afghan villagers stand in front of the door of a house which was raided 
by foreign and Afghan forces conducted by U.S. troops in Kabul, 
Afghanistan, 01 Sep 2008
Witnesses said a man and his two young sons were killed in the raid. 
They also said three people were taken away by the troops.

In another development, Afghanistan's president has appealed to U.S.-led 
forces to scale back their air strikes on militant targets because of 
civilian casualties. Hamid Karzai wants NATO and the U.S.-led coalition 
forces to use alternatives to air power in pursuit of militants.

Last week, Mr. Karzai ordered a review of foreign troops in Afghanistan 
after his administration said up to 90 civilians were killed in an air 
raid by the U.S.-led coalition in western Herat.

The U.S.-led coalition disputed that account, saying 25 militants and 
five civilians were killed when troops called in air strikes following 
an attack by militants.

The United Nations said it found "convincing evidence" of the higher 
death toll after an on-scene investigation.

Separately, U.S. military officials said Monday more than 220 suspected 
militants were killed in a military operation in Afghanistan's southern 
Helmand province last week.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6490845.html

Afghans protest against continuous civilian death by Int'l troops

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16:53, September 01, 2008