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Iraq's PM visits insurgent stronghold of Ramadi
2007-03-13
Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the violent city of Ramadi on Tuesday on his first visit to the heartland of Sunni Arab insurgents fighting his U.S.-backed government. The highly symbolic trip to Anbar province came as more than 100,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were being deployed in Baghdad in a security crackdown seen as the last chance to avert an all-out sectarian civil war. Maliki, who flew aboard a U.S. military helicopter, met tribal leaders, local government officials and commanders of Iraqi and U.S. security forces. Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad, is the capital of the vast, largely desert province of Anbar, a bastion of the four-year old Sunni rebellion against Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and occupying U.S. forces. Iraqi and U.S. troops patrolled the streets in large numbers and a vehicle curfew was imposed under extraordinary security measures in the city, scene of a growing power struggle between local tribes and al Qaeda militants. While U.S. and Iraqi forces are focusing security efforts on Baghdad, seen as the epicenter of Iraq's violence, Maliki's unannounced trip to Ramadi appeared aimed at showing his government was willing to deal with other regions too. Several thousand of the 26,000 extra U.S. troops being sent to Iraq by President Bush are slated to reinforce Anbar, which is the deadliest area for American forces in Iraq. A member of the long-oppressed Shi'ite majority that came to power after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Maliki has called for national reconciliation with Sunni Arabs to end a war that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. Dominant under Saddam, Sunni Arabs now make up the backbone of the insurgency, which sprang up in western Anbar after invading U.S. forces toppled Saddam, a Sunni. Animosities against Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and U.S. forces run deep in Anbar, where American troops launched two offensives against the city of Falluja in 2004. AL QAEDA Many Ramadi residents, however, said they hoped the rare visit by the prime minister would improve the situation. "We hope he brings us security and stability," said Ahmed Hussein Ali, a 35-year old teacher. "We ask the prime minister to help the people in Anbar to root out the terrorists. His visit comes at a time that demands cooperation from the government," Fawaz Khalaf, a retired civil servant, said. Maliki, who was accompanied by reporters on his trip, met at a U.S. military base outside the city with local government officials and Sattar al-Buzayi, a Sunni sheikh who has emerged as the leader of the tribal alliance against al Qaeda. Iraqi and U.S. officials have encouraged Sunni tribesmen to band together against Sunni al Qaeda in the province. The traditionally minded tribal leaders oppose the militant group's plan to impose an Islamic caliphate, and the two sides have fought battles in towns and villages along the length of the Euphrates valley from Falluja to the Syrian border. A truck bomb blamed on al Qaeda killed 52 people near a Sunni mosque in Ramadi last month. Major General William Caldwell, chief U.S. military spokesman, said on Monday commanders anticipate the security crackdown in Baghdad could drive some insurgents out into areas such as Anbar and northeastern Diyala province. (Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons, Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami)
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