6,000 Iraqi Sunnis Vow to Aid US

Iraqi civilian forces help decrease violence as refugees return home
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 29, 2007 7:44 AM CST
6,000 Iraqi Sunnis Vow to Aid US
Iraqi refugees pack their luggage on a bus at al-Sayda Zeinab, southern Damascus on Tuesday Nov. 27. 2007 ahead of their return trip to Iraq. In the first-ever convoy financed by their government, hundreds of Iraqi refugees boarded buses leaving Syria on Tuesday and heading home to Baghdad, cautiously...   (Associated Press)

Almost 6,000 Sunni Arab civilians in Iraq turned against Al-Qaeda yesterday and signed a pact to help US forces police possible insurgent escape routes. As insurgents seek to gain a foothold in the semi-autonomous north, American officials hailed the alliance, which is the Iraq war’s largest single volunteer effort, AP reports.

The new fighters will be paid $275 monthly—comparable to a typical Iraqi policeman’s salary—and will cover about 200 security checkpoints starting next month. One mayor cited local murders by the insurgents, and vowed: “I will not let them continue their killing.” Thousands of Iraqis have helped American forces dampen violence, and thousands of refugees are returning home to Iraq from Syria. (More Iraq stories.)

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