When al-Jihad neighborhood sectarian massacre happened, I called different Shiite and Sunni lawmakers to get their comments on what is happening. All of which agreed that Iraq is "on the edge of a civil war".
After I finished the calls and filed my material, I kept thinking of the situation as an Iraqi citizen away from what the politicians say or pretend. Are we really on the verge of the civil war? No, we are not! We are going through a civil war right now. Let's face it.
What is the Civil War? Wikipedia defines it as A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. Some civil wars are also categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict. An insurgency, whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians if, and only if, organized armies fight conventional battles. Other historians state the criteria for a civil war is that there must be prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country (conventionally fought or not).
If we look deep into this definition, we'll find it typical to what is happening in Iraq, especially in Baghdad. The Mahdi Army consists of members of the same culture, society and sect. They all follow the traditions and teachings of Muqtada al-Sadr and his late father and uncle. Badr troops are the military wing of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Both are classified as militias as both of them are armed and ready to fight. Both have been involved in several incidents of kidnapping, beating and torturing of Sunni Iraqis, and many experts view it as a sectarian militia.
On the other hand, there are the Sunni insurgents whom I think started the sectarian killings. Since 2004, Sunni armed men controlled Sunni areas that lead to Shiite holy cities like Najaf and Karbala. These insurgents stopped cars and people in the middle of the day and killed hundreds, if not thousands of Shiites going to visit the holy Shiite Shrines. As a reaction to this, Both Shiite militias started their campaign against the Sunni minority in Iraq. It started as a sectarian conflict by individual shootings, killings, kidnappings and car bombs. The most famous incident Badr's hands were stained in blood with was the Jadriya interior ministry prison where Sunnis were found tortured. After that the Sunni insurgents increased their attacks against Shiites by full control of Sunni areas forcing the Shiite people to leave. Also as a reaction to this, the Shiite militias continued their sectarian campaign. They forced Sunnis in their neighborhoods to leave or they would be killed.
This sectarian conflict has arisen since Ibrahim al-Jafari took power after the elections which Sunnis did not take part in. Jafari was powerless. He was controlled by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council of Islamic revolution in Iraq who owns Badr troops. Hakim was smart enough to change the name of Badr troops into Badr organization to deny all the crimes they commit. He always justifies that Badr is an "unarmed organization" and that the troops have joined the interior ministry and became part of the security forces and they are no longer a militia. Bayan Jabur Solagh, the former interior minister in Jafari's government and the former head of the troops, played a big role in raising the sectarian conflict to reach its peak. These forces carried out hundreds of sectarian raids against Sunnis by his orders as some lawmakers and politicians say. They kidnapped hundreds of Sunni young men and elderly whose dead bodies were found few days after their kidnapping.
The bombing of the Samarra Askariya holy Shiite shrine was the spark that led Iraq reach this situation. As a reaction, Shiite militias and security forces took part in the deadly massacre against Sunnis in different parts of the country. The Baghdad morgue by itself received more than 1000 corpses in few days. I've been there at that time and I saw what no eye can endure seeing. Bodies were tortured, legs and arms were cut, and blood covered the piles of the bodies which were thrown on the floor. I had the feeling that this will never pass easily.
Day after day, sectarian killings increased leaving thousands of people die and thousands others flee their areas or the whole country. The worst confrontation erupted July 9 when Shiite Muslim militiamen rampaged through al-Jihad neighborhood and killed dozens of Sunni Arabs. By Friday, the sixth day, the death toll in Baghdad stood at 628 people, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Nima of the Interior Ministry told the Washington Post. These attacks provoked the Sunni insurgents. They decided to carry out a new technique. Military-style assault on unarmed civilians took its way to Shiite areas, especially in markets and coffee shops. In one incident happened last week, assailants entered a cafe and shot dead seven men -- most of them elderly -- while they were having tea in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad, Maytham Abdul Zahad, a police officer told the Washington Post. He said the gunmen stepped on their victims' heads to keep them still. The Post also said that Sunni Arab insurgents asserted responsibility for the slaughter, calling it retaliation for attacks against their own in surging sectarian violence.
Today for instance, a suicide bomber blew up a minibus at the entrance to a market in Sadr City, a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least 33 and wounding more than 70 other people. Today's explosion was the second major car bombing in Sadr City this month. A blast July 1 killed 66 people, and set off a wave of reprisal killings of Sunnis by Shiite extremists seeking revenge.
Out of this continuous civil war, Baghdad became like city of ghosts. The absence of electricity for 22 hours made it look like a city in the middle ages. Lack of control by the security forces became so visible to all the people whom no longer trust them especially when Police and interior ministry commandoes were seen helping and supporting the Mahdi Army militiamen breaking into the houses of the Sunnis in al-Jihad neighborhood.
A new rumor is spread among people now: the American army may carry out a huge operation in Baghdad looking for militiamen and insurgents. People, including my family, started storing food and water. It is believed it is going to be as worse as the Falluja and Najaf battles.
Problems in my neighborhood, a neighborhood with Sunni majority, started again. Mahdi army militiamen were seen setting checkpoints and searching people's vehicles in front of the Iraqi army which did nothing to stop these outlaws. These militiamen broke into the opposite neighborhood and forced Sunni men leave their homes or they rape their daughters and kill them afterwards. My Sunni friends are so afraid and have no other choice so far but to stay armed in their houses to defend themselves and their families.
My uncle lives in Dora, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. At least 245 people died there last week, police announced. I called him once as he was stuck inside his house while he was peering through his window at the group of armed men clashing with each other. He told me he saw shirtless men firing machine guns, gunmen in black tracksuits toting rocket-propelled grenade launchers. His daughters cried at the rattle of gunfire, unable to fall asleep in their beds. Few days after the clashes were over, he took his family to my aunt's houses which considered a little bit safer.
After I finished the calls and filed my material, I kept thinking of the situation as an Iraqi citizen away from what the politicians say or pretend. Are we really on the verge of the civil war? No, we are not! We are going through a civil war right now. Let's face it.
What is the Civil War? Wikipedia defines it as A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. Some civil wars are also categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict. An insurgency, whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians if, and only if, organized armies fight conventional battles. Other historians state the criteria for a civil war is that there must be prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country (conventionally fought or not).
If we look deep into this definition, we'll find it typical to what is happening in Iraq, especially in Baghdad. The Mahdi Army consists of members of the same culture, society and sect. They all follow the traditions and teachings of Muqtada al-Sadr and his late father and uncle. Badr troops are the military wing of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Both are classified as militias as both of them are armed and ready to fight. Both have been involved in several incidents of kidnapping, beating and torturing of Sunni Iraqis, and many experts view it as a sectarian militia.
On the other hand, there are the Sunni insurgents whom I think started the sectarian killings. Since 2004, Sunni armed men controlled Sunni areas that lead to Shiite holy cities like Najaf and Karbala. These insurgents stopped cars and people in the middle of the day and killed hundreds, if not thousands of Shiites going to visit the holy Shiite Shrines. As a reaction to this, Both Shiite militias started their campaign against the Sunni minority in Iraq. It started as a sectarian conflict by individual shootings, killings, kidnappings and car bombs. The most famous incident Badr's hands were stained in blood with was the Jadriya interior ministry prison where Sunnis were found tortured. After that the Sunni insurgents increased their attacks against Shiites by full control of Sunni areas forcing the Shiite people to leave. Also as a reaction to this, the Shiite militias continued their sectarian campaign. They forced Sunnis in their neighborhoods to leave or they would be killed.
This sectarian conflict has arisen since Ibrahim al-Jafari took power after the elections which Sunnis did not take part in. Jafari was powerless. He was controlled by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council of Islamic revolution in Iraq who owns Badr troops. Hakim was smart enough to change the name of Badr troops into Badr organization to deny all the crimes they commit. He always justifies that Badr is an "unarmed organization" and that the troops have joined the interior ministry and became part of the security forces and they are no longer a militia. Bayan Jabur Solagh, the former interior minister in Jafari's government and the former head of the troops, played a big role in raising the sectarian conflict to reach its peak. These forces carried out hundreds of sectarian raids against Sunnis by his orders as some lawmakers and politicians say. They kidnapped hundreds of Sunni young men and elderly whose dead bodies were found few days after their kidnapping.
The bombing of the Samarra Askariya holy Shiite shrine was the spark that led Iraq reach this situation. As a reaction, Shiite militias and security forces took part in the deadly massacre against Sunnis in different parts of the country. The Baghdad morgue by itself received more than 1000 corpses in few days. I've been there at that time and I saw what no eye can endure seeing. Bodies were tortured, legs and arms were cut, and blood covered the piles of the bodies which were thrown on the floor. I had the feeling that this will never pass easily.
Day after day, sectarian killings increased leaving thousands of people die and thousands others flee their areas or the whole country. The worst confrontation erupted July 9 when Shiite Muslim militiamen rampaged through al-Jihad neighborhood and killed dozens of Sunni Arabs. By Friday, the sixth day, the death toll in Baghdad stood at 628 people, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Nima of the Interior Ministry told the Washington Post. These attacks provoked the Sunni insurgents. They decided to carry out a new technique. Military-style assault on unarmed civilians took its way to Shiite areas, especially in markets and coffee shops. In one incident happened last week, assailants entered a cafe and shot dead seven men -- most of them elderly -- while they were having tea in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad, Maytham Abdul Zahad, a police officer told the Washington Post. He said the gunmen stepped on their victims' heads to keep them still. The Post also said that Sunni Arab insurgents asserted responsibility for the slaughter, calling it retaliation for attacks against their own in surging sectarian violence.
Today for instance, a suicide bomber blew up a minibus at the entrance to a market in Sadr City, a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least 33 and wounding more than 70 other people. Today's explosion was the second major car bombing in Sadr City this month. A blast July 1 killed 66 people, and set off a wave of reprisal killings of Sunnis by Shiite extremists seeking revenge.
Out of this continuous civil war, Baghdad became like city of ghosts. The absence of electricity for 22 hours made it look like a city in the middle ages. Lack of control by the security forces became so visible to all the people whom no longer trust them especially when Police and interior ministry commandoes were seen helping and supporting the Mahdi Army militiamen breaking into the houses of the Sunnis in al-Jihad neighborhood.
A new rumor is spread among people now: the American army may carry out a huge operation in Baghdad looking for militiamen and insurgents. People, including my family, started storing food and water. It is believed it is going to be as worse as the Falluja and Najaf battles.
Problems in my neighborhood, a neighborhood with Sunni majority, started again. Mahdi army militiamen were seen setting checkpoints and searching people's vehicles in front of the Iraqi army which did nothing to stop these outlaws. These militiamen broke into the opposite neighborhood and forced Sunni men leave their homes or they rape their daughters and kill them afterwards. My Sunni friends are so afraid and have no other choice so far but to stay armed in their houses to defend themselves and their families.
My uncle lives in Dora, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. At least 245 people died there last week, police announced. I called him once as he was stuck inside his house while he was peering through his window at the group of armed men clashing with each other. He told me he saw shirtless men firing machine guns, gunmen in black tracksuits toting rocket-propelled grenade launchers. His daughters cried at the rattle of gunfire, unable to fall asleep in their beds. Few days after the clashes were over, he took his family to my aunt's houses which considered a little bit safer.
Now, what should we call this? A sectarian strife or a civil war? I don't think we are on the verge; we are already in.
