Whois
11-22-2004, 01:25 PM
Deployment of Kurdish troops in Mosul alarms Arabs
21 Nov 2004 15:15:13 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Luke Baker
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 21 (Reuters) - As U.S. forces try to regain control of Iraq's third largest city, they are turning to their old allies the Kurds to keep the peace in Mosul.
That has caused resentment among some Arabs and Kurdish troops have been killed in at least one incident -- three Kurds were found shot dead in the mainly Arab city on Sunday.
In the 10 days since Sunni Arab insurgents overran parts of Mosul, looting, burning and in several cases blowing up police stations, reinforcements have been sent in from across the nearby northern Kurdish region, especially Dohuk and Arbil.
A battalion of Iraq's paramilitary National Guard has been sent in from both those towns and another could soon join them, raising the total to around 1,800 men, U.S. commanders say.
While now in National Guard uniform and answerable to the Iraqi Defence Ministry in Baghdad, most of the Kurds were until recently "peshmerga" fighters, a well-organised and feared force set up by Kurdish leaders in the mountains who, with U.S. help, fought Saddam Hussein's army to a standstill after the Gulf War.
Their deployment has provoked consternation among some Arab residents who fear that the Kurds, who want a fully independent state in northern Iraq, are trying to expand their territory onto the oil-rich plain to the south of their strongholds.
"Nobody wants the Kurdish army here," said Abeet Ranam, 40, an Arab storeowner in an upscale neighbourhood of northeastern Mosul. "There have been Kurds living here for centuries and that is fine. But we do not want the Kurdish army."
In the west of the city on Sunday, a Reuters reporter saw the bodies of three National Guards, shot in the back of the head. A note by the bodies read: "These are peshmerga soldiers."
The U.S. military said troops found the bodies of nine National Guards in Mosul on Saturday, similarly shot. It was not clear whether they were Kurds. An Arab guerrilla group posted a video on a Web site saying it showed two Kurdish "spies" being shot in Mosul.
Another group said it had beheaded two National Guards.
ETHNIC MIX
Mosul's two million people are among Iraq's most ethnically and religiously diverse communities. As well as Arabs and Kurds, who mostly share a common Sunni Muslim faith, there are also Turkish-speaking Turkmen, Christian Assyrians and Yazidis.
The city, in the far north of Iraq on the banks of the Tigris, has its roots in the 8th century when it was an important stopover on the caravan route from the Mediterranean to India.
"The people of Mosul don't like outsiders, that's it. Whether it's Kurds or Arabs from outside, they are not welcome," said Ala, a translator for U.S. forces who is half Kurdish and half Arab.
For the U.S. military, the public suspicions about the Kurdish National Guard units have created a conundrum.
For well over a decade, the Kurds have been Washington's strongest ally in Iraq against Saddam. Now, with Mosul threatening to turn to chaos after most of the city's 4,000 police deserted, the Kurds are again proving staunch allies.
"They're well-organised, fierce and get the job done," said Captain Robert Lackey, a company commander with the U.S. Stryker Brigade, which is responsible for northern Iraq.
"They understand how we operate and what we need to do, so it's great to have them working with us."
Out on the streets of Mosul, the Kurdish National Guards are far more effective than Arab peers, U.S. commanders say. Many Arab Guards are simply not turning up to work, partly out of fear of reprisals by insurgents against them or their families.
"For the Kurds, this isn't their neighbourhood, this isn't their town, so they have nothing to fear," said Lieutenant Noel Rodriguez, a Stryker Brigade platoon commander.
In one southeastern neighbourhood where a police station was blown up last week, Kurdish National Guard units have moved in.
The Kurdish commander was barely able to communicate in Arabic. One man in the street pointed in alarm to the Kurdish flag on the commander's uniform -- and absence of Iraqi symbols.
U.S. commanders say they are aware of such sensitivities but dismiss suggestions that they could stoke ethnic conflict.*
* Hahahahahahaha, idiots.
21 Nov 2004 15:15:13 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Luke Baker
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 21 (Reuters) - As U.S. forces try to regain control of Iraq's third largest city, they are turning to their old allies the Kurds to keep the peace in Mosul.
That has caused resentment among some Arabs and Kurdish troops have been killed in at least one incident -- three Kurds were found shot dead in the mainly Arab city on Sunday.
In the 10 days since Sunni Arab insurgents overran parts of Mosul, looting, burning and in several cases blowing up police stations, reinforcements have been sent in from across the nearby northern Kurdish region, especially Dohuk and Arbil.
A battalion of Iraq's paramilitary National Guard has been sent in from both those towns and another could soon join them, raising the total to around 1,800 men, U.S. commanders say.
While now in National Guard uniform and answerable to the Iraqi Defence Ministry in Baghdad, most of the Kurds were until recently "peshmerga" fighters, a well-organised and feared force set up by Kurdish leaders in the mountains who, with U.S. help, fought Saddam Hussein's army to a standstill after the Gulf War.
Their deployment has provoked consternation among some Arab residents who fear that the Kurds, who want a fully independent state in northern Iraq, are trying to expand their territory onto the oil-rich plain to the south of their strongholds.
"Nobody wants the Kurdish army here," said Abeet Ranam, 40, an Arab storeowner in an upscale neighbourhood of northeastern Mosul. "There have been Kurds living here for centuries and that is fine. But we do not want the Kurdish army."
In the west of the city on Sunday, a Reuters reporter saw the bodies of three National Guards, shot in the back of the head. A note by the bodies read: "These are peshmerga soldiers."
The U.S. military said troops found the bodies of nine National Guards in Mosul on Saturday, similarly shot. It was not clear whether they were Kurds. An Arab guerrilla group posted a video on a Web site saying it showed two Kurdish "spies" being shot in Mosul.
Another group said it had beheaded two National Guards.
ETHNIC MIX
Mosul's two million people are among Iraq's most ethnically and religiously diverse communities. As well as Arabs and Kurds, who mostly share a common Sunni Muslim faith, there are also Turkish-speaking Turkmen, Christian Assyrians and Yazidis.
The city, in the far north of Iraq on the banks of the Tigris, has its roots in the 8th century when it was an important stopover on the caravan route from the Mediterranean to India.
"The people of Mosul don't like outsiders, that's it. Whether it's Kurds or Arabs from outside, they are not welcome," said Ala, a translator for U.S. forces who is half Kurdish and half Arab.
For the U.S. military, the public suspicions about the Kurdish National Guard units have created a conundrum.
For well over a decade, the Kurds have been Washington's strongest ally in Iraq against Saddam. Now, with Mosul threatening to turn to chaos after most of the city's 4,000 police deserted, the Kurds are again proving staunch allies.
"They're well-organised, fierce and get the job done," said Captain Robert Lackey, a company commander with the U.S. Stryker Brigade, which is responsible for northern Iraq.
"They understand how we operate and what we need to do, so it's great to have them working with us."
Out on the streets of Mosul, the Kurdish National Guards are far more effective than Arab peers, U.S. commanders say. Many Arab Guards are simply not turning up to work, partly out of fear of reprisals by insurgents against them or their families.
"For the Kurds, this isn't their neighbourhood, this isn't their town, so they have nothing to fear," said Lieutenant Noel Rodriguez, a Stryker Brigade platoon commander.
In one southeastern neighbourhood where a police station was blown up last week, Kurdish National Guard units have moved in.
The Kurdish commander was barely able to communicate in Arabic. One man in the street pointed in alarm to the Kurdish flag on the commander's uniform -- and absence of Iraqi symbols.
U.S. commanders say they are aware of such sensitivities but dismiss suggestions that they could stoke ethnic conflict.*
* Hahahahahahaha, idiots.