NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Sectarian violence in Iraq

Following the Coalition-led invasion and war of Iraq, there has been an increased level of sectarian violence in Iraq. Sectarian-motivated attacks from the Iraqi insurgency and other militia groups (and sometimes the police and the army as well) are common. Many politicians, media pundits and news analysts, including the country's former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Britain's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad William Patey, have called the situation an Iraqi civil war. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Coalition of the Willing is a phrase that has been used by the administration of United States President George W. Bush to refer to the nations whose governments supported (most of them not militarily) the United States position in the Iraq disarmament crisis and later the 2003 invasion of Iraq... Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom Poland Australia South Korea Romania Spain Portugal Italy others. ... Combatants Baathist Iraq Baath Loyalists Al-Qaeda in Iraq Mahdi Army Other insurgent groups and militias United States United Kingdom New Iraqi Army Kurdish forces Multinational forces in Iraq Commanders Saddam Hussein Abu Musab al-Zarqawiâ€ Moqtada al-Sadr Abu Ayyub al-Masri Mujahideen Shura Council Tommy Franks... Sectarianism refers (usually pejoratively) to a rigid adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination. ... Iraqi militants celebrating orders being given to the surrounding Coalition forces to stand down, Fallujah, May 1 2004. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with political commentator. ... News is new information or current events. ... A fairly broad term for a person or tool with a primary function of information analysis, generally with a more limited, practical and short term set of goals than a researcher. ... Iyad Allawi Dr. Iyad Allawi (Arabic: ) (born 1945) is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraqs 2005 legislative elections. ... Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic : Ù…ØÙ…Ø¯ ØØ³Ù†Ù‰ Ø³ÙŠØ¯ Ù…Ø¨Ø§Ø±Ùƒ ) (born May 4, 1928) commonly known as Hosni Mubarak (Arabic: ØØ³Ù†Ù‰ Ù…Ø¨Ø§Ø±Ùƒ ) has been the fourth President of Egypt for twenty-five years, since 14 October 1981. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. ...

Sectarian composition

The Sunni insurgency has used sectarian violence to capitalize on Sunni fears of the Shi'a majority and the Shi'a armed militias have shown a zeal for vigilante justice. However, there are other sectarian divisions of the population that lay in nearly a dozen distinct groups. These groups are subdivided into countless smaller factions.

The sectarian divisions can be divided into several main ideological or ethnic strands: An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ...

Religions: The Arabs (Arabic: Ø¹Ø±Ø¨ ) are an ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... The Kurds are an ethnic group indigenous to a region often referred to as Kurdistan, an area which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... Assyrians are Aramaic-speaking Christians who consider themselves to be indigenous inhabitants of Mesopotamia, and inheritors of the ancient culture of Assyria. ... There are several meanings to Turkmen: Related to the country Turkmenistan Turkmen language Turkmen people A breed of horse called the Turkoman This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The Kurdish-Sunni faction and the Arab-Shi'ite are the main two participants in the violence, but conflicts within a single group have occurred. Iran, it has been conjectured, would assist the Shiites. A Sunni-Shiite civil war in Iraq, with Iran helping the Shiite and other Arab nations helping the Sunni, is a possibility.^[1] Sunnis have claimed the Shiites want to establish an Iranian-style theocracy. The Kurds are caught between the two religious groups but as they are an ethnicity opposed to religous movement they are often at odds with the Sunni Arabs that were settled in Kurdish Iraq by Sadam's arabization policy. ^[2] Blurring this cohesion, though, are division of social, economic, political and geographic identities. A Muslim (Arabic: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…, Turkish: MÃ¼slÃ¼man, Persian and Urdu: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…Ø§Ù†, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... The Yezidi or Yazidi (Kurdish; Êzidî) are adherents of a small Middle Eastern religion with ancient origins. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ...

Background

There have been sectarian tensions in Iraq for decades, if not centuries, but the bitterness leading up to the violence was increased during Saddam Hussein's rule. The government of Saddam was run almost entirely by Sunni Arabs like himself, and he tended to favor this group over all others. Rebellions by Shiites and Kurds in 1991 just after the Persian Gulf War was met with a genocidal slaughter, more than 100,000 people from both groups were massacred. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Saddam also kept a tight rein on power by suppressing Iraqi civil society and civil groups, both democratic and Islamic.

Conflict and tactics

Non-military targets

Some analysts suspect that the aim of these attacks is to sow chaos and sectarian discord. There have been attacks on non-military and civilian targets, beginning in earnest in August 2003 and steadily increasing since then. Armed and unarmed Iraqi police and Iraqi security forces are targeted. The assassination of Iraqis cooperating with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Governing Council have also occurred. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Iraqi Police are the organic civil police force of the Republic of Iraq. ... Iraqi soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade, train on cordon and search procedures at Diyala Regional Training Facility in August 2005. ... Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other strategically important individual. ... The Seal of the CPA in Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom and the other members of the multinational coalition which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003. ...

Ambushes

Ambushes against the poorly protected Iraqi police and security forces collabarating with the invaders, however, have proven very lethal. There have been isolated cases of larger ambushes, such as an attack on a coalition convoy in Samarra on November 30, 2003 that involved 100 fighters and a massive ambush of a coalition convoy in Sadr City on April 4, 2004 by Mahdi Army militiamen numbering over 1,000 men. Map showing Samarra near Baghdad SÄmarrÄ (Ø³Ø§Ù…Ø±Ø§Ø¡) is a town in Iraq (, ). It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the province of Salah ad Din, 125 km north of Baghdad and, in 2002, had an estimated population of 201,700. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Overhead view of Sadr City Sadr City (formerly known as Saddam City and AThawra before that and since its establishment in 1959 by the then The Brigadier A. K. Quassim) is a vast low-income neighbourhood in northeastern Baghdad, home to some two million Shia Muslims. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ...

Sabotage

Saboteurs have also repeatedly assaulted the Iraqi oil industry. Using either rocket-propelled grenades or explosives, forces have destroy portions of oil pipeline in northern Iraq, and had expanded to southern Iraq by April, 2004. This sabotage hampers the activities of the Iraqi government and the foreign occupation forces by reducing oil revenues. There have also been attacks on water pipeline and the electrical grid by the Iraqi insurgents. This article is about Sabotage sabotage can also refer to: an early Black Sabbath album (Sabotage), the Alfred Hitchcock films (Sabotage or Saboteur), a Beastie Boys song, or a type of shock site. ... Crude oil is a finite resource. ... Grenade may refer to: The well-known hand grenade commonly used by soldiers. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil Oil, in a general sense, is a chemical compound that is not miscible with water, and is in a liquid state at ambient temperatures. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Impact of a drop of water. ... Transmission lines in Lund, Sweden Transmission towers and lines in Coquitlam, British Columbia. ...

Suicide bombers

Since August, 2003, suicide car bombs have been increasingly used as weapons by sectarian militant forces. The car bombs, known in the military as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, have emerged as one of their most effective weapons, along with the roadside improvised explosive devices. They are driven by extremist bombers and directed against targets such as Iraqi police stations and recruiting centers for the security services. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide). ... A car bomb is an improvised explosive device that is placed in a car or other vehicle and then exploded. ... IED is also an abbreviation for Intelligent Electronic Device IED is also an abbreviation for Intermittent explosive disorder A large cache of munitions found in Afghanistan in 2004. ...

Assassinations and kidnappings

Assassination of local and government officials, translators for coalition forces, employees at coalition bases, informants, and other (so-called) collaborators has been a regular occurrence. Assassinations have taken place in a variety of ways, from close-range small arms fire and drive-by shootings to suicide car-bombers ramming convoys. Kidnapping, and in some cases, beheadings in execution-style killings, have emerged as another tactic. In many cases, tapes of the beheadings are distributed for propaganda purposes. However, 80% of hostages taken by extremists have been peacefully released, though many only after their respective employing companies or governments paid hefty ransom demands under the threat of beheading the kidnap victim. Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other strategically important individual. ... The term small arms describes any weapon that a person can easily transport and fire. ... A drive-by shooting (sometimes referred to merely as a drive-by) is an attack on a person carried out with one or more firearms, usually automatic handguns or sub-machine guns from a moving vehicle (or a momentarily stopped vehicle). ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... A car bomb is an improvised explosive device that is placed in a car or other vehicle and then exploded. ... Beheading. ... Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation directly aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ...

Civil war and violent unrest

Though some observers state that a full blown civil war has not happened, many agree the framework for a potential civil war exists and is seen as a pressing concern. Iyad Allawi, the former interim prime minister, noted his belief that the country is headed toward civil war. ^[3] There have been warnings from United States senators that Iraq faces a potential civil war.^[4] The multinational force's exit may provide the needed stimulus to produce a full blown civil war in Iraq. Others believe civil war is happening now. Arun Gupta, Editor with the New York Indypendent newspaper, stated unequivocally that the "Civil war has already begun in Iraq." ^[5] Yet, still other observers and even some Iraqis themselves disagree, styling the conflict as little more than anarchy. Iyad Allawi Dr. Iyad Allawi (Arabic: ) (born 1945) is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraqs 2005 legislative elections. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area Ranked 27th - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 kmÂ²) - Width 285 miles (455 km) - Length 330 miles (530 km) - % water 13. ... The Indypendent [1] is the newspaper of the New York City Independent Media Center [2], a local branch of the world wide Indymedia network. ... In the realist theory of International Relations, the anarchical system that all states find themselves in is the lack of clear organisation of states into a hieracical order that is found within states. ...

There have been a number of spectacularly bloody attacks in Iraq. In August of 2003 the Imam Ali Mosque (a Shi'a mosque) was bombed with somewhere between 85 to 125 Shi'ites were killed, including Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. The Ashoura Massacre of March 2, 2004, left more than 180 people dead in one of the bloodiest attacks of the insurgency. A car bomb February 28, 2005, killed 125 in Hillah. Attacks in September 2005 killed hundreds of Iraqis within days of each other. Exterior view of Imam Ali Mosque The Imam Ali Mosque, also known as Meshed Ali or the Tomb of Ali, is a mosque located in Najaf, Iraq. ... Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim (Arabic: Ø³ÙŠØ¯ Ù…ØÙ…Ø¯ Ø¨Ø§Ù‚Ø± Ø§Ù„ØÙƒÙŠÙ… ) (1939 - August 29, 2003) was the foremost Shia Muslim leader in Iraq until his assassination in a bombing in Najaf. ... The Ashoura Massacre was a series of planned terrorist explosions, that killed 170 and injured 500 Iraqi Shiite Muslims commemorating the Ashoura festival. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In late August 2005, violence occurred in Najaf, Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah, and Sadr City (Baghdad). The fighting was between the supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Badr Brigade, who are backed by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Both sides blame each other for the violence. Some Shi'a National Assembly members and ministers suspended their membership in the council because of the violence. Since Sadr's expulsion from the city of Najaf, fighting between rival Shi'a groups has nearly ceased. 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- â†’ Deaths in August August 31: Michael Sheard August 26: Lord Fitt August 24: Jack Slipper August 24: Maurice Cowling August 24: Dr. Tom Pashby August 23: Brock Peters August 22: Lord Lane August 21: Robert Moog August... Najaf (Arabic: ) is a city in Iraq, about 160 km south of Baghdad, located at 31. ... NÄÅŸirÄ«yah (also transliterated as Nassiriya or Nasiriya; in Arabic Ø§Ù„Ù†Ø§ØµØ±ÙŠØ©, al-Nasiriyah or an-Nasiriyah) is a city in Iraq. ... Overhead view of Sadr City Sadr City (formerly known as Saddam City and AThawra before that and since its establishment in 1959 by the then The Brigadier A. K. Quassim) is a vast low-income neighbourhood in northeastern Baghdad, home to some two million Shia Muslims. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: â€Ž translit: , Kurdish: Bexda, from Persian Baagh-daad or Bag-Da-Du meaning â€œGarden of Godâ€ [1]) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Muqtada Al-Sadr (Arabic: Ù…Ù‚ØªØ¯Ù‰ Ø§Ù„ØµØ¯Ø±, also transliterated as Moqtada As-sadr) (born August 12, 1973 (Rajab 14, 1393 A.H. in the Islamic calendar) is the fourth son of the famous Iraqi Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As... The Badr Organization originally the Badr Brigade is the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. ... The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is an Iraqi political party; its support comes from the countrys Shia Muslim community and from their fellow religionists in neighbouring Iran. ... The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is an Iraqi political party; its support comes from the countrys Shia Muslim community and from their fellow religionists in neighbouring Iran. ... The Iraqi National Assembly is the unicameral parliament of Iraq which meets in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. ...

On September 22, 2005, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said that he had warned the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq was hurtling toward disintegration, and that the election planned for December was unlikely to make any difference. United States officials immediately made statements rejecting this view.

The Al Askari Mosque bombing occurred on February 22, 2006 at approximately 6:55am local time (0355 UTC) at the Al Askari Mosque — one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam — in the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Although no injuries occurred in the blast, the bombing resulted in violence over the following days. Image File history File links Iraq1. ... Image File history File links Iraq1. ... The Al Askari Mosque bombing occurred on February 22, 2006 at approximately 6:55am local time (0355 UTC) at the Al Askari Mosque â€” one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam â€” in the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad. ... The Al Askari Mosque in Samarra around 1926. ... Shia Islam, also Shiite Islam or Shiism (Arabic: â€Ž , translit: ; is the second largest denomination of the religion of Islam. ... Map showing Samarra near Baghdad SÄmarrÄ (Ø³Ø§Ù…Ø±Ø§Ø¡) is a town in Iraq (, ). It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the province of Salah ad Din, 125 km north of Baghdad and, in 2002, had an estimated population of 201,700. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: â€Ž translit: , Kurdish: Bexda, from Persian Baagh-daad or Bag-Da-Du meaning â€œGarden of Godâ€ [1]) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

Following the Samarra bombing, reprisal attacks continued until a curfew was put into place, avoiding civil war. The following events took place after the bombing: After sundown, a car-bomb killed 23 at the Shiite Abdel Habi Chalabi mosque. A suicide bombing killed an another 23 at an east Baghdad gas station. Police subsequently found nine more bullet-riddled bodies, which included a Sunni tribal sheik. An attack was carried out on the Shiite Imam Kadhim shrine, killing one and wounding ten. Shiite cleric Hani Hadi was found shot in the head near a Sunni mosque in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood. A car-bomb hit a market across from the Shiite Timimi mosque, killing six. The Iraqi government has stated that 379 people were killed in the subsequent attacks, although the Washington Post reported that over 1,300 people were killed.

On May 10, 2006 Iraqi President Jalal Talabani made a public announcement urging all political parties to "quell this bleeding" after figures showed sectarian violence killed 1,091 in Baghdad the prior month.[6] May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jalal Talabani (in Kurdish:ïºŸï»ªï»»ï» ïº—ïºŽï»Ÿï»ªïº‘ïºŽï»§ï»° /Celal TalebanÃ®/Jelal TalebanÃ )(in Arabic: Ø¬Ù„Ø§Ù„ Ø·Ø§Ù„Ø¨Ø§Ù†ÙŠ: jalÃ¢l tÃ¢labÃ¢nÃ®) (born 1933), Iraqi politician, was named President of Iraq on April 6, 2005 and once again on April 22, 2006 by the Iraqi National Assembly. ... Sectarian violence is violence or confrontation/conflict inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one religion. ...

In July 2006, Baghdad's central morgue received 1,855 bodies, the most since the bombing of a Shia shrine in February prompted a wave of sectarian killings. The Iraqi government stated that 3,438 Iraqis died around the country that month. [7]

Shia gunmen massacred 40 Sunni Muslims on July 9, 2006 in Baghdad. On August 20 2006, Sunni snipers shot and killed at least 22 Shiites during a pilgramige in Baghdad. The Hay al Jihad massacre occurred on July 9, 2006 in the Hay al Jihad neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: â€Ž translit: , Kurdish: Bexda, from Persian Baagh-daad or Bag-Da-Du meaning â€œGarden of Godâ€ [1]) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

On August 22, 2006, Lieutenant General Robert Fry, Britain's top commander in Iraq, told reporters at the Pentagon in a video-teleconference from Baghdad "What I think we have is something which is, at the very best, a civil war in miniature...But I don't think it actually even meets that definition...I think we have something which is localized, relatively difficult to deal with...But we're now beginning to take measures which are genuinely eating into the sectarian violence which has been operating up until now." Fry stated that the sectarian violence was confined to an area around Baghdad.^[8]^[9] Robert Fry is a British general who is one of the commanders in charge of the multinational force in Iraq. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ...

On August 23, 2006, Jill Carroll, a journalist with the Christian Science Monitor, published part 8 of her story detailing her captivity in Iraq. In it, she described how two days after the Al Askari Mosque bombing, one of her captors told her the following: "'Aisha,' he said, calling me by the Sunni nickname they'd given me, 'now our No. 1 enemy are the Shias. Americans are No. 2.'" She continued by stating: "But after the Feb. 22 bombing of the Askariya Shrine, and rampant Sunni-Shiite killing, nearly every captor I came into contact with would tell me about their hate for Shiites first."[10] Jill Carroll appeared in a video released by the terrorist group Brigades of Vengeance Jill C. Carroll (born October? 1977) is an American journalist, currently employed by the Christian Science Monitor. ... The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ... The Al Askari Mosque bombing occurred on February 22, 2006 at approximately 6:55am local time (0355 UTC) at the Al Askari Mosque â€” one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam â€” in the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad. ...

Opposing views

Some deny that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war. Some western mass media outlets describe the situation in Iraq as a disorganized insurgency. Such sources state that the population is not fighting amongst themselves and that the majority of Iraqis want peace, with the Iraqi insurgency (especially, extremists from other countries fighting a Jihad) as the real problem. Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience (typically at least as large as the whole population of a nation state). ... Iraqi militants celebrating orders being given to the surrounding Coalition forces to stand down, Fallujah, May 1 2004. ...

The violent actors have few of organizing elements normally seen that would qualify these conflicts as a true civil war, though many characteristics of the violence resembles anarchy (in the sense of political disorder, violence and confusion). Besides the two or three distinct factions (Kurd, Sunni, and Shi'ite), there are hundreds of subcategorization that can be made. These subcategorizations, as stated earlier, can be split along differences of social, political, and geographic differences. Some factions also seem to be more interested criminal action (such as ransom money; kidnapping foreigners and holding them for hostage) than in larger political goals. One such incident was that of hostage Minas Ibrahim al-Yussufi, whose abductors demanded (and apparently later received) a four million dollar ransom.^[11] A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. ... In the realist theory of International Relations, the anarchical system that all states find themselves in is the lack of clear organisation of states into a hieracical order that is found within states. ... For other uses, see Crime (disambiguation). ...

Dr. Hayder Abdulkarim, while on a tour of the U.S. with lawyer Ali Ramadan to talk about Iraq's reconstruction and to thank Americans for their liberation, said '"The vast majority of Iraqis hate these terrorists. They are not "resistance" fighters, as some Americans have said. That is completely wrong. They are murderers. More than 15,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by these people. These people are warring against civilization, against humanity. The majority of Iraqis want peace. They want help getting rid of these terrorists. And they want a strong partner such as the United States to help them." ^[12]

Dan Senor said Iraq isn't having a civil war but rather "high-level sectarian tension". Daniel Dan Senor is currently working as a crisis management and communications strategy consultant with his newly founded firm, Senor Strategies. ...

In August 27, 2006, Nouri al-Maliki said that "Iraq is not in a civil war. Iraq will never be in a civil war." He also said that that the violence in Iraq is decreasing. [13] Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamel al-Maliki (Arabic: Ù†ÙˆØ±ÙŠ ÙƒØ§Ù…Ù„ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø§Ù„ÙƒÙŠ, transliterated NÅ«rÄ« KÄmil al-MÄlikÄ«; born c. ...

Potential effect of a civil war

An article in The Washington Post, published on August 20, 2006^[14], reported that a full-blown Iraq civil war may result in the death of hundreds of thousands of people and turn millions of people into refugees. The ethnic unrest could also spillover to the rest of the region, with "copycat secession attempts" in neighbouring countries, such as Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, as these countries have similar ethnic diversity. Citing the history of Taliban and Rwandan Patriotic Front as examples, the report warned that refugee camps often become a sanctuary and recruiting ground for militias, spreading the conflict to a wider area. Civil war could lead to greater radicalism and terrorist organisations; in history, Hezbollah, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and the Irish Republican Army were formed as a result of civil wars. Based on lessons learnt from the Irish, Lebanese, and Bosnian civil wars, the report predicted that if an all-out civil war were to break out in Iraq, the US-led coalition would require 450,000 troops to quash it. The Washington Post is the largest and oldest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Politics of Rwanda Categories: Rwandese political parties | Politics stubs ... Hezbollah flag For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ... Tamil Tigers emblem The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a military and political organization that has waged a violent secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan Government since the 1970s in order to secure independence for the Tamil portions of Sri Lanka. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ...

In the same article, The Washington Post reported that there are already plenty of signs of a civil war and a refugee crisis in Iraq. About 100,000 Arabs are displaced from northern Iraq under pressure from Kurdish militias. 50,000 to 100,000 Shiities have fled central Iraq to the south in the past 18 months, and 200,000 Sunni Arabs are reportedly to have been displaced in western Iraq, due to the fighting between Sunni groups and the US-led coalition. ^[15]

Encyclopedia > Sectarian violence in Iraq

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