Anti-Qaeda militiamen in the central Iraqi province of Diyala have been stripped of the right to bear arms, an official said on Sunday, sparking a wave of anger and warnings of unrest.
The latest move comes amid efforts to integrate the Sahwa (Awakening) fighters, who joined with US and Iraqi forces in 2006 and 2007 to turn the tide of Iraq’s bloody insurgency, with Iraq’s security forces and ministries as part of a deal reached in 2008.
“The ground forces commander, Lieutenant-General Ali Ghaidan, ordered the withdrawal of weapons permits from Sahwa members in Diyala,” said an official in the province’s security command, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The decision was taken following the arrest of several militants implicated in assassinations.”
The official said that 9,837 militiamen in the province were affected by the decision. However, Zuhair al-Chalabi, a senior Iraqi official responsible for integrating the Sahwa, who are known as the “Sons of Iraq” by the US Army, into the security forces and civil ser-vice, said that the weapons permits had expired rather than having been withdrawn. “The Diyala command gave the militiamen special authorisation (to carry arms), and not weapons permits,” Mr Chalabi told AFP. “These authorisations expired and were withdrawn by the command,” he added. —AFP