UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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politicians accusing each other of stirring sectarian tensions. 163 In addition to the<br />
insurgency, the lack of rule of law, the election of a sectarian-based government and its<br />
inability to promote reconciliation, the empowerment of militias and human rights abuses<br />
by Shi’ite-dominated ISF against Sunnis, have all contributed to further sectarianism.<br />
After the bombing of the revered Shi’ite Al-Askari Shrine in the predominantly Sunni city<br />
of Samarra on 22 February 2006, allegedly by Sunni extremists, sectarian violence has<br />
escalated and “has become one of the most significant forms of human rights violation.” 164<br />
The attack spawned days of reprisals and set off a cycle of sectarian violence across Iraq,<br />
including violent clashes between Sunnis and Shi’ites, targeted kidnappings and<br />
assassinations as well as attacks on mosques. 165 Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani urged his<br />
followers not to retaliate against Sunnis, but revenge killings have now become a daily<br />
occurrence. The moderating influence of Al-Sistani appears to be waning. 166 Since the<br />
Samarra bombing, more Iraqis have died in execution-style sectarian killings than in<br />
terrorist attacks carried out by insurgents, which had previously been the major threat to<br />
security in Iraq. 167<br />
iii) Current Situation<br />
Sunni armed groups are held responsible for (suicide) attacks targeting Shi’ite-dominated<br />
ISF bases and recruitment centres, Shi’ite religious sites and gatherings (e.g. during the<br />
festivities of Ashura), as well as religious leaders and Shi’ite civilians at large. For<br />
example, on 3 February 2007, a suicide bombing hit a crowded market in Al-Sadriya,<br />
a predominantly Shi’ite district in Baghdad, leaving at least 130 Iraqis dead. 168 A series of<br />
car bombs and mortar attacks in Sadr City, home to more than two million Shi’ites, on<br />
23 November 2006 caused the death of over 200 persons and injured many more. 169<br />
163<br />
See, for example, Parker and Hamdani, see above footnote 104. See also: UNHCR, 2005 Country of<br />
Origin Information Iraq, p. 15-16, see above footnote 53.<br />
164<br />
UNAMI HRO, April 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 1, see above footnote 74.<br />
165<br />
See, for example, UNAMI HRO, Human Rights Report, 1 January – 28 February 2006, p. 1-2,<br />
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/HR%20Report%20Jan%20Feb%2006%20EN.PDF (further: “UNAMI<br />
HRO, February 2006 Human Rights Report”).<br />
166<br />
See, for example, Iraq Study Group Report, p. 16, see above footnote 35.<br />
167<br />
The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq, written by the US National Intelligence Council, parts<br />
of which became public in early February 2007, emphasized that Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence has become the<br />
primary source of conflict. See: Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus, Iraq at Risk of Further Strife,<br />
Intelligence Report Warns, The Washington Post, 2 February 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020101152.html.<br />
The US Department of Defense assessed that “(i)t is<br />
likely that Shi’a militants were responsible for more civilian casualties than those associated with terrorist<br />
organizations”; see: US Department of Defense, p. 17, see above footnote 73; Farah Stockman and Bryan<br />
Bender, Iraq militias’ wave of death, The Boston Globe, 2 April 2006, http://www.boston.com/news/<br />
world/articles/2006/04/02/iraq_militias_wave_of_death/.<br />
168<br />
BBC News, Baghdad market bomb “kills 130”, 3 February 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/<br />
6327057.stm.<br />
169<br />
Sudarsan Raghavan and Nancy Trejos, Assault on Iraqi Civilians Is Deadliest Since 2003, The<br />
Washington Post, 24 November 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/<br />
11/23/AR2006112300399.html.<br />
50