Sunni politicians back 'neighbourhood self-defence'

ft: Sunni politicians on Tuesday condemned government forces who battled in a Baghdad neighbourhood, feeding fears that rising sectarian violence and Shia militia activity may be pushing Iraq's Sunni population toward supporting the insurgency.

"What happened in Adhamiya is an evil act by an armed militia backed by security and government operatives," said Dhafer al-Ani, a member of the Sunni-led Iraqi Consensus Front, the largest Sunni block in parliament. Mr Ani was one of several politicians who on Tuesday condemned an early Monday morning raid by Iraqi security forces into the Sunni district that was attacked by rebels.

The prominent Iraqi newspaper al-Zaman claimed that the "people of Adhamiya had foiled a night assault by a death squad whose members were disguised as police" and quoted members of the "Adhamiya Defense Committees."

Reporters trying to get into the district said US and Iraqi forces had sealed off the area yesterday, while witnesses claimed insurgents were again being deployed on rooftops in possible preparation for another round of fighting.

There were reports that at least one civilian was killed and five others wounded in the fighting.

It is significant that the street fighting in Adhamiya has been portrayed, by the Iraqi media and Sunni leaders, as neighbourhood self-defence rather than an insurgent attack on security forces. It could strengthen the insurgents' claim to be fighting for the Sunni population as a whole. Read more