UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

Division, based in the Governorate of Diyala, was penetrated by a Shi’ite militia and
conducted a campaign of intimidation against Sunnis in the mixed Governorate. Colonel
Brian D. Jones, the commander of US Forces in Diyala, said “I believe this is a larger plan
to make Diyala a Shia province, rather than a Sunni province.” 123
Despite repeated announcements by the current Government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-
Maliki to purge the ISF and crack down on militias, the government has shown little will
and ability to confront these powerful groups. 124 On 18 January 2007, Iraqi officials
announced that, for the first time, they had taken significant action against the Mehdi Army
by arresting dozens of its senior leaders. Four days later, the US military announced it had
arrested more than 600 Mehdi Army fighters. 125 On 8 February 2007, the MNF/ISF
arrested Deputy Health Minister Al-Zamili, accusing him of diverting millions of dollars to
the Mehdi Army and allowing death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to
carry out kidnappings and killings. 126 On 14 February 2007, the Iraqi Government declared
a new security crackdown, dubbed “Operation Imposing Law” (or the Baghdad Security
Plan), in conjunction with US forces in Iraq in an aim to put an end to sectarian violence.
Al-Maliki vowed to go against all armed groups, irrespective of their religious affiliation. 127
Significant improvements of the security situation in Baghdad and Al-Anbar Governorate
are not expected until the summer and fall 2007 and there is wide consensus that security
measures must be accompanied by political steps towards reconciliation. 128 The U.S.
123 Solomon Moore, A promising Iraqi province is now a tinderbox, Los Angeles Times, 3 January 2007,
http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=news234907&Category=news&Subcategory=0; Richard A.
Oppel Jr., Sectarian rifts foretell pitfalls of Iraqi troops’ taking control, The New York Times, 11 November
2006, http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/11/africa/web.1111diyala.php.
124 For example, on 28 October 2006, Al-Maliki criticised a raid carried out by the MNF/ISF on Sadr City,
which, according to US military had taken place with the permission of the Iraqi Government; and on 31
October 2006, Al-Maliki ordered US and Iraqi units to lift a blockade around Sadr City, the stronghold of the
Mehdi Army; Middle East Online, Hassen Jouini, Iraqi PM hands Sadr victory over US blockade, 31 October
2006, http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/11454; Al Jazeera, Iraqi PM criticises raid on Sadr
City, 28 October 2006, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=38105; NPR, Jamie
Tarabay, Troops Raid Sadr City; Maliki Disavows Timeline, 25 October 2006, http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?storyId=6383365. On Al-Maliki’s relationship with Muqtada Al-Sadr and his difficulties to
rein in the militias, see also: Lionel Beehner, Maliki and Sadr: An Alliance of Convenience, 24 October 2006,
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), http://www.cfr.org/publication/11787/; Sumedha Senanayake, Iraq:
Shi’ite Militia Continues To Pose Dilemma, RFE/RL, 20 October 2006, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/
2006/10/62bf8567-beb1-4fbb-a3f9-773bc68560c7.html.
125 Sumedha Senanayake, Iraq: Cracking Down On Al-Sadr No Easy Task, RFE/RL, 26 January 2006,
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/6816daab-ebad-400e-a71a-bc852515f8b7.html; Sabrina
Tavernise, Shi’ite Fighters Are Arrested, Iraq Says, The New York Times, 18 January 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/world/middleeast/18mahdi.html.
126 Kim Gamel, Iraqi Official Tied to Militia Jailed, AP, 8 February 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020801049.html.
127 BBC News, Iraqi PM wins key security vote, 25 January 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6298839.stm.
128 See Marc Santora, Top U.S. General in Iraq Says New Plan to Pacify Baghdad May Take Months to
Show Results, The New York Times, 15 January 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/world/
middleeast/16iraq.html?ex=1326603600&en=f09d6094c80a4294&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss.
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