Post by Papa C. on Feb 18, 2008 10:20:05 GMT
Feb 17, 2008 11:57 PM
By Tina Susman and Cesar Ahmed
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Iraqi security forces stage walkout near Baghdad
Members of the Sons of Iraq guard corps abandon their posts to protest U.S. airstrikes that have allegedly killed 12 civilians this month.
2:03 PM PST, February 16, 2008
BAGHDAD — U.S.-allied security forces said today they were abandoning their posts in a volatile area south of Baghdad to protest airstrikes by American forces that they say have killed at least 12 civilians this month.
The walkout followed an airstrike Friday near the town of Jarf Sakhr that tribal leaders said killed three members of the Sons of Iraq, the civilian guard corps credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq. The U.S. military said Friday that helicopters responding to gunfire near Jarf Sakhr rocketed a building, but it did not confirm any casualties.
On Feb. 2, nine Iraqis, including three Sons of Iraq members, were killed in the same area in an errant airstrike that the U.S. military acknowledged.
Majeed Janabi, a tribal leader in the area who worked with U.S. forces to establish Sons of Iraq checkpoints there, said he did not believe the shootings were a mistake and said in Friday's incident, the helicopter landed and U.S. forces fired on the guards. "The U.S. forces stepped out of their choppers and killed our [forces]," he said. "That means they had time to look at them and their uniforms."
The U.S. military pays the security volunteers about $10 a day and gives them vests to make them easy to identify. In the past, U.S. officials have said accidental shootings occurred when volunteers were not wearing their vests and were mistaken for armed insurgents. But some volunteers say there are not enough vests to go around.
"When we signed the contract with the U.S. forces, it was dependent on working jointly with them," Janabi said. "If they want us to come back, we will, but we need to make another contract that will guarantee our rights and prevent a repeat of such mistakes."
Police in Babil province said about 2,000 of the volunteers had left their posts in Jarf Sakhr and nearby villages Saturday night.
The corps has an estimated 80,000 members across the country, bolstering security in areas without adequate Iraqi police protection.
Also today, the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees said he would post a special representative to Iraq to help resettle people returning home after five years of war. The announcement was a sign of the United Nations' growing confidence in the country's security, but also an acknowledgment that an influx of returnees could spark new conflict if there is nobody on the ground to oversee the migration.
The commissioner, Antonio Guterres, told a news conference that in addition to naming a special representative, his office soon would increase its staff from two to five in Iraq.
"It is here that the essential work needs to be done, in close cooperation with the government," Guterres said.
tina.susman@latimes.com
A special correspondent in Hillah contributed to this report.
By Tina Susman and Cesar Ahmed
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Iraqi security forces stage walkout near Baghdad
Members of the Sons of Iraq guard corps abandon their posts to protest U.S. airstrikes that have allegedly killed 12 civilians this month.
2:03 PM PST, February 16, 2008
BAGHDAD — U.S.-allied security forces said today they were abandoning their posts in a volatile area south of Baghdad to protest airstrikes by American forces that they say have killed at least 12 civilians this month.
The walkout followed an airstrike Friday near the town of Jarf Sakhr that tribal leaders said killed three members of the Sons of Iraq, the civilian guard corps credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq. The U.S. military said Friday that helicopters responding to gunfire near Jarf Sakhr rocketed a building, but it did not confirm any casualties.
On Feb. 2, nine Iraqis, including three Sons of Iraq members, were killed in the same area in an errant airstrike that the U.S. military acknowledged.
Majeed Janabi, a tribal leader in the area who worked with U.S. forces to establish Sons of Iraq checkpoints there, said he did not believe the shootings were a mistake and said in Friday's incident, the helicopter landed and U.S. forces fired on the guards. "The U.S. forces stepped out of their choppers and killed our [forces]," he said. "That means they had time to look at them and their uniforms."
The U.S. military pays the security volunteers about $10 a day and gives them vests to make them easy to identify. In the past, U.S. officials have said accidental shootings occurred when volunteers were not wearing their vests and were mistaken for armed insurgents. But some volunteers say there are not enough vests to go around.
"When we signed the contract with the U.S. forces, it was dependent on working jointly with them," Janabi said. "If they want us to come back, we will, but we need to make another contract that will guarantee our rights and prevent a repeat of such mistakes."
Police in Babil province said about 2,000 of the volunteers had left their posts in Jarf Sakhr and nearby villages Saturday night.
The corps has an estimated 80,000 members across the country, bolstering security in areas without adequate Iraqi police protection.
Also today, the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees said he would post a special representative to Iraq to help resettle people returning home after five years of war. The announcement was a sign of the United Nations' growing confidence in the country's security, but also an acknowledgment that an influx of returnees could spark new conflict if there is nobody on the ground to oversee the migration.
The commissioner, Antonio Guterres, told a news conference that in addition to naming a special representative, his office soon would increase its staff from two to five in Iraq.
"It is here that the essential work needs to be done, in close cooperation with the government," Guterres said.
tina.susman@latimes.com
A special correspondent in Hillah contributed to this report.
