At least 27 killed as Iraqi forces raid Sunni camp

April 23rd, 2013

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

A man is brought to a hospital on a stretcher after after being wounded in a clash between Iraqi forces and Sunni Muslim protesters in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad April 23, 2013. (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

At least 27 people were killed and 70 wounded on Tuesday after clashes between security forces and Sunni protesters in the town of Hawija, near Kirkuk, 170 km north of the capital Baghdad. Both sides traded blame for the bloodshed.

Thirteen gunmen were also killed later in the day in revenge
attacks on army checkpoints in the Al-Rashad and Al-Riyadh areas of
Kirkuk province, the army officers said, cites AFP.

Conflicting reports on the death toll in Hawija have emerged,
but they confirm that both the government forces and the protesters
saw casualties. Three security officers and 20 demonstrators were
killed, according to the Iraqi defense ministry. Other military
sources put the number of security casualties at 6.

The Ministry of Defense said they raided the Sunni encampment
while searching for fugitive militants who attacked a checkpoint
near Hawija several days earlier. The military officials also said
they had warned camp residents of the looming raid and asked them
to leave the area, some of whom did. Those who remained allegedly
attacked the government troops.

“When the armed forces started… to enforce the law using
units of riot control forces they were confronted with heavy
fire,” the defense ministry said in a statement, according to
Reuters. In the ensuing conflict, security forces detained 75
protesters and confiscated a huge arsenal, seizing multiple weapons
such as rocket-propelled grenades, sniper rifles and AK-47s, AP
reported.

However, protesters claimed they were unarmed when the security
forces attacked them. “When special forces raided the square, we
were not prepared and we had no weapons, they crushed some of us in
their vehicles,” protester Ahmed Hawija, a student, said,
according to Reuters.

Sunni government officials have condemned the raid. Iraqi
Education Minister Mohammed Tamim, a Sunni Muslim, protested the
incident by announcing his resignation.

Two men lie in hospital beds after being wounded in a clash between Iraqi forces and Sunni Muslim protesters in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad April 23, 2013 (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

The fighting at the Sunni camp was not the end of Tuesday’s
violence: Three checkpoints around Hawija were seized by tribal
Sunni militants for a short while, until they were retaken by
government forces.

A curfew has now been imposed in the area, and the protesters’
tents were burned down by government troops.

The fighting in Hawija was reportedly the bloodiest in the
series of clashes between Sunnis and government troops that have
been taking place since December, when Iraqi Sunni’s exploded in
protest against the country’s Shiite-led leadership. The protesters
point to Iraq’s anti-terrorism law, which they describe as a
pretext for their persecution.

Sunnis also came under attack on Tuesday in southern Baghdad
when two roadside bombs were detonated while worshippers were
leaving a mosque, according to police. At least seven people
reportedly died and 17 more were wounded.

Iraq has been wracked by violence since US troops withdrew from
the country in 2011. Political power appears to have concentrated
in the hands of a Shia political elite, resulting in widespread
protest by Iraqi Sunnis and ethnic Kurds.

The run-up to the provincial election, held on April 20, saw
this violence escalate, with bombings reported nearly every day.
Fourteen candidates, most of whom were Sunni, died. Eventually, 6
of Iraq’s 18 provinces could not participate in the polls for security
reasons.

The latest outbreak of violence comes as the country awaits the
results of the election.