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Iraq Seeks to Break Up Sunni Fighter Units

Posted Dec 23, 07 11:20 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Iraq's Shiite-dominated government is demanding that Sunni militias who are helping fight Islamic extremists eventually disband, fearing they will otherwise turn into their own military force. The militias, called Awakening Councils, or Concerned Local Citizens, comprise more than 70,000 Iraqis, including former insurgents, and are funded by the United States.

"We completely, absolutely reject the Awakening becoming a third military organization," said Iraq's defense minister. The government promises to hire a quarter of the Sunni militiamen into its security forces and provide vocational training to the rest for other jobs, but will deny them separate headquarters. Violence in Iraq has dropped 60% in the past half year.

Source Associated Press

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a security volunteer patrols in the primary Sunni Azamiyah neighborhood of north Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. Iraq's Shiite-led government has said that American-backed Sunni groups key to...   (Associated Press)
Security volunteers warm themselves by a fire as another volunteer checks a vehicle entering the primarily Sunni Azamiyah neighborhood of north Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. Iraq's Shiite-led...   (Associated Press)
A member of the Concerned Local Citizens Group stands guard over a man suspected of weapons trafficking during a joint patrol with U.S. and Iraqi troops in Hawr Rajab, a predominantly Sunni area of southern...   (Associated Press)
Security volunteers check vehicles entering the primarily Sunni Azamiyah neighborhood of north Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. Iraq's Shiite-led government has said that American-backed Sunni...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq • United States • troop surge • Shiite • Sunni • al-Qaeda in Iraq • Awakening Councils • Concerned Local Citizens • militias


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