Shiite lawmakers complain about Iraq army action

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 6:26 AM Posted by Beijing News


BAGHDAD – Shiite lawmakers loyal to an anti-U.S. cleric demanded Tuesday that parliament summon Iraq's defense minister to answer allegations that four men were killed by attackers in Iraqi army uniforms in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr City.

The Iraqi military has denied its forces were involved, but the dispute has threatened to raise tensions in the capital's main Shiite district over purported human rights violations by government security forces.

The lawmakers, part of a bloc loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, claimed that men appearing to be Iraqi soldiers stormed two houses in Sadr City a week ago and arrested four men. The men's bullet-riddled bodies were found the next day in the street.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, denied army involvement in the raid and blamed "a terrorist group" for abducting and killing the four men. An investigation has been ordered, he said in a statement.

Sadrist lawmaker Maha al-Douri said the gunmen could not have entered Sadr City without the knowledge of the Iraqi army's 11th Division, which controls the area.

"This division is either infiltrated or lax," al-Douri said.

U.S. forces had maintained a presence at bases on the edge of the sprawling district but have begun pulling out as part of a timeline set in a security pact that took effect this year. It calls for a full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011.

The incident comes amid complaints led by al-Sadr's followers over the treatment of detainees at the hands of Iraqi security forces following allegations of widespread abuse and torture in Iraqi prisons.

The Iraqi government has established a special committee to investigate the allegations, which have threatened to become a major issue ahead of Jan. 30 national parliamentary elections.

Another Sadrist lawmaker, Ahmed al-Masoudi, threatened to present a petition to summon Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in his capacity as commander in chief if "a fair and immediate probe is not conducted."

The lawmakers also demanded the replacement of the Iraqi army unit in charge of Sadr City, complaining that residents, including women, have been harassed.

The sprawling slum used to be al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia stronghold who fought fierce battles with the Americans before they were routed by a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown last year.







A surfer catches a wave off of Kewalo Basin in Hawaii. AP Photo/Marco Garcia

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