By The Daily Journalist.
The fall in Ramadi, the capital of the largest province in Iraq on the hands of the self-styled Islamic State has forced the Iraqi prime minister Haidar al Abadi to take a desperate decision: give the green light to sending Shiite militias to Al Anbar. The first Shiite fighters have reached Monday a near Ramadi base after the disbanding of the Iraqi security forces and the execution of hundreds of officers and civilians in the past two days.
The move could increase sectarian tensions and alienate the people and tribes of Al Anbar, a province of traditional jihadist Sunni stronghold, who do not agree with the hosts of the caliphate. “About 3,000 men Hashid Shaabi [Popular Mobilization in Arabic, and loyal to Iran] from Babil province have already been deployed at the base Habbaniyah, about 30 kilometers east of Ramada”, noted the provincial council Al Anbar in a statement.
According to the note, the newcomers carry heavy artillery to stand up to the IS, which controls 90% of Al Anbar. Your landing occurs after receiving the placet of the provincial council in a move that shows the enormous weakness of security forces since early 2014 have been losing ground in Al Anbar and a year ago Mosul fled the city segundad Iraq , leaving the armor and arsenal IS.
Near Baghdad
Members of the Shiite militias have secured in the last hours in collaboration with government troops have devised a plan to oust IS Ramadi, about 100km west of Baghdad, and start the reconquest. Shiite officials estimated last month that at least 60,000 members “Hashid Shaabi” were prepared to fight with security forces in Al Anbar and Mosul.
Ramadi disaster as a backdrop, Iran’s Defense Minister Hussein Deghan has landed in Baghdad on Monday to meet with his Iraqi counterpart, Sunni Khalid al-Obeidi. Since Seoul, the US Secretary of State John Kerry is optimistic that Ramadi could be reconquered in the coming weeks. Al Anbar raises a sad memory in Washington: Nearly 1,300 American soldiers were killed by the insurgency after the invasion of Iraq between 2004 and 2007.
The greatest triumph of IS in one years
The jihadist victory in Ramadi, the most notable of those harvested by the IS during this year, rushed on Sunday after his fighters initiated a fierce offensive that led to the Iraqi government unsuccessfully to send reinforcements from neighboring areas. Last Friday the black banner of IS flew for the first time in the administrative heart of Ramadi.
The ‘mujahideen’ (holy warriors) used a bulldozer to break through to the government complex, formed by the offices of the local authorities and the police headquarters. After breaking down the walls planted in the middle of the road, up to six kamikazes crashed their vehicles on the compound, including two Humvees (SUVs) taken from the Iraqi security forces.
Since then, at least 500 members of the security forces and civilians have been killed in Ramadi, in the middle of the fighting or summary executions committed by extremists. Army, police and members of local tribes have been unable to resist the onslaught of IS, which has used suicide bombers, car bombs and hundreds of militants arrived from neighboring Syria. Skirmishes have also caused an exodus of civilians. Some 120,000 people have fled since April, according to UN estimates.
Even the air strikes launched by the international coalition led by the United States in Ramadi -19 in the last 72 hours-have succeeded in stopping the advance of IS. Baghdad’s reluctance to train and arm the tribes of Anbar to confront the jihadis is one of the errors that have fueled the progress of IS. Although the US has advocated form tribes, the plan has made little progress by the resistance of the Shiite political parties.
