100,000 Iraqi families flee sectarian violence
Sectarian violence has forced about 100,000 families across Iraq to flee their homes, a top Iraqi official said. At least 17 people have been killed in fighting.
Adil Abdul-Mahdi, one of the country’s two vice presidents, estimated that 100,000 Iraqi families – 90% of them his fellow Shiites – had fled their homes to escape attacks by rival religious sects.
Abdul-Mahdi’s estimate was higher than any offered so far by Iraqi officials, who have placed the figure at about 15,000 families, or about 90,000 people.
Dr Salah Abdul-Razzaq, spokesman of a government body that runs Shiite religious institutions, put the number of displaced Shiite families at 13,750 nationwide, or about 90,000 people.
That includes 25,000 Shiites who have fled since the bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra on February 22 triggered a wave of attacks on Sunni mosques and clerics.
The hard-line Sunni clerical Association of Muslim Scholars said about 980 Sunni families, or about 5,000 people, have left five mixed areas of Baghdad in recent weeks and moved in with relatives in Sunni-dominated communities outside the capital.
Accurate counts are difficult because many people simply move in with relatives. Despite US claims, it is clear that substantial numbers of people have relocated to areas where their communities form the majority.
About 400 Shiite families are in a camp near Khanaqin, a largely Kurdish town near the Iranian border. Most fled Baghdad with only what they could carry.
The Human Relief Organisation, an Iraqi NGO, has provided the refugees with tents from the regional government and is talking with officials to get more help.
“We get some every day,” said Omar Mansour, an official with the relief group. “I’m afraid the numbers will increase greatly when the school year ends and people feel freer to flee. All these families have letters with death threats. So they came here fearing for their lives, only to live in these harsh conditions.”
US officials are hoping that a new national unity government can calm sectarian tensions as well as lure disaffected Sunni Arabs away from the insurgency. Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki has three more weeks to finalise his Cabinet – the final step in forming the unity government.
That is necessary before Washington can consider a substantial drawdown in the 130,000-strong US military presence.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters marched through New York’s lower Manhattan yesterday to demand an immediate withdrawal of US troops.
The demonstrators stretched for about 10 blocks as they headed down Broadway. Organisers said 300,000 people marched, though a police spokesman declined to give an estimate. There were no reports of arrests.
Organisers said the march was also meant to oppose any military action against Iran, which is facing international criticism over its nuclear program. The event was organised by the group United for Peace and Justice.
| Related Stories: |
|
