Sectarian Violence Rocks Al-Amiriyah

When Shia Ali Sadiq was told he’d be killed if he didn’t move out of his home in western Baghdad’s al-Amiriyah neighbourhood, he took the warning seriously.

As sectarian violence has spread to this once-peaceful area, home to a mixed Sunni and Shia community, some residents have paid a terrible price.

“They killed a friend of mine who refused to obey their threats,” said Sadiq, 32.

“I lived in al-Amiriyah for 15 years and was never harassed until recently. We used to live like brothers. Most non-extremist Sunnis are not happy about these acts.”

Residents say killings and threats against Shias in al-Amiriyah are becoming commonplace. They speculate that the violence has spread from the nearby Abu Ghraib and al-Radhwaniya areas, which are dominated by Sunnis, many of whom were officers in the dissolved Iraqi Republican Guard or were members of the Baath Party.

Dozens of Shias have also been killed in sectarian incidents in the al-Dora area of Baghdad.

There are no exact statistics for the number of people killed in such violence, partly because morgues in Iraq are unable to keep up with the influx of bodies. Funerals are also sometimes held privately, without deaths being reported to the authorities.

Much of the violence is directed at Shias, the victims usually being ordinary members of the public with no particular involvement in politics. Leading Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged members of his community not to retaliate – and so far most have exercised restraint.

When armed men attacked his family’s electrical appliances store, Hasan Mahmood was injured and two of his brothers were killed.

“One of the men, carrying a Kalashnikov, said ‘welcome to the Shias’,” recalled Mahmood. “Then he started firing at us.

“Before, there was no enmity between the Sunnis and Shias. And now, we won’t think about killing them one day in revenge.”

Police lieutenant Ali Mahmood Hasan acknowledged that Sunni extremists are targeting Shias in al-Amiriyah, but said the security forces were unable to control the area.

“These groups have the support of some of the residents, while we have no cooperation with the residents, this is the problem,” he said.

Many Sunnis, like Omar Mohammad, are outraged by the bloodshed. He said he is still mourning a Shia colleague who he had worked with for 12 years.

“There is no difference between us and the Shias, but there are those who want to divide the Shia and Sunni brothers,” he said.

Sayf Tawfiq, a Sunni textile shop owner in al-Amiriyah, said many of his Shia friends have closed their businesses to move to other, safer areas of Baghdad.

“Murdering the Shias is a grand crime and Islam doesn’t not call for that,” said Tawfiq. “We have been living peacefully for hundreds of years.”

Hussein Ali is an IWPR trainee in Baghdad.