- Title: IRAQ: Iraqi government begins to pay anti-Qaeda Sunni patrols
- Date: 12th November 2008
- Summary: VARIOUS OF TRAINING CAMP FOR MEMBERS OF AWAKENING COUNCIL MEMBERS OF AWAKENING COUNCIL ATTENDING CLASS LECTURER GIVING THEM LECTURE ABOUT ELECTRICITY VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF SAHWA LISTENING TO LECTURER MEMBERS OF SAHWA AFTER END OF CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHALDOUN, A LECTURER, SAYING: "After security was secured and stability returned to this area, they (the government)
- Embargoed: 27th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVACYPWMUIELM00FR108HP8K73CB
- Story Text: Members of the mostly Sunni "Awakening" neighbourhood patrols begin to receive salaries and programs from the initially reluctant Shi'ite-led government after Washington had financed the groups to help it drive out al Qaeda from previous strongholds.
From a money-counting table stacked with cash to a staircase in the hallway, a long line of U.S-backed Iraqi fighters wait patiently for their dues.
It's pay week for the patrolmen who helped flush al Qaeda militants out of their Baghdad neighbourhoods. Only this time, it is the Iraqi government who's paying them, a transition from U.S. control many had feared would leave them out in the cold.
Called Awakening Councils or "Sahwas" in Arabic, the units led mostly by local Sunni Arab tribal sheikhs began turning against al Qaeda two years ago in western Anbar province and soon provided a model for cooperation that exported nationwide.
In Baghdad, a small number of Shi'ite fighters also operate.
On Monday (November 10), the Iraqi army opened scores of stations in parts of Baghdad to pay the U.S.-backed neighbourhood guards, most of them Sunni Arabs who switched sides against the insurgency and who have been key to cutting violence in Baghdad and across Iraq.
The U.S. military says the Sahwa fighters number 100,000, about half of them in Baghdad province. The government took charge of the Baghdad fighters last month and plans to soon take responsibility for those in other parts of the country.
Many expected they would be abandoned when the Shi'ite-led government took over their programme from the U.S. military last month. Others feared being arrested for crimes committed when they were insurgents.
"If they (government) tell us that they do not need us anymore, your work is over, where are we going to go? We need them (government) to look after us and put our situation in their respect because the situation that we live in is hard. We are here to earn our living," said Mohammed Lazem after receiving his salary.
Lazem said it was necessary that the government continues to provide training for the members of the force and help them re-settle into society.
"If there is civilian work for those who are unable to join the army and police, civilian work such as a blacksmith and loans to be offered for them because all the people here are in a bad financial state. We joined this job because of the salary and to be honest, the salary is small," he added.
Khaldoun, a lecturer who used to teach Sahwa members said the government has opened many rehabilitation centres to give members of the Sahwa a chance to learn an occupation and reap its benefit after finishing their duty.
"After security was secured and stability returned to this area, they (the government) believed that they should find a solution to the Sahwas, so they opened these rehabilitation centres to provide a chance for them to learn an occupation that will enable them to get benefit from their life. If he leaves this place, he would be able to find work," he said.
But the Iraqi official in charge of the Sahwa, Mudhher al-Mulla, said he was pleased the transition of responsibility from the U.S. military was smooth.
"This is the second day for paying the salaries of the Sahwa. The salaries remain the same salaries that the US forces paid for Sahwa members, 300 US dollars for every member. The Iraqi government is continuing the payments," he said. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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