Sunni Officials Relocate Families To Kurdistan
By Basil Adas, Correspondent
July 02, 2007
Baghdad: In a striking development, some top Sunni officials in the Iraqi
government and parliament have decided to transfer their families to the more
secure Kurdish region, Sunni politicians said.
Salman Al Jabouri, a leading figure in Ahl Al Iraq convention (People of Iraq
convention), Karkh section in Baghdad, told Gulf News: "Militias might kidnap
Sunni officials' sons and murder them. Besides, Al Qaida has become a serious
threat to the families, ... the Accord Front do not want their families to dwell
inside the American fortified International Zone [formerly the Green Zone]."
Information indicates that the families of Vice-President Tariq Al Hashemi,
Deputy Prime Minister Salam Al Zubai, and the suspended head of the Iraqi
Parliament Mahmoud Al Mashadani, will move to the Kurdish regions, especially to
Arbil, where leaders promised special protection and support.
Worsening security
The escalation of sectarian violence in Baghdad led Sunni leaders to transfer
their families to Kurdish region, a step that might indicate a worsening of
security situation in future, said Sunni sources.
Faris, an official bodyguard for Sunni Accord Front members, told Gulf News:
"There were written threats sent to Sunni officials, claiming to kill their
family members if they do not withdraw from the whole political process ....
Besides the possibility of securing their families' safety in Baghdad became
almost impossible. ... their sons ... go to schools and universities while their
wives visit relatives, that is the reason we need a large number of bodyguards."
According to Iraqi sources, who asked not to be named, some Arab countries have
offered to host families of the Sunni officials, but they preferred the Kurd
region mainly because most Sunni leaders admire the Kurdish position
characterised by moderation concerning de-Baathification and dissolution of the
Iraqi army.
Zuhair Al Dulaimi, a history professor, told Gulf News: "An important reason
forcing Sunnis to flee Baghdad is that assassination campaigns have turned into
massacres, claiming the lives of 20 to 50 citizens per day."
Sunni political groups estimated that 200,000 Iraqis have left for Jordan, Syria
and Egypt among other countries, and approximately out of 190,000 Sunnis who
left, 150,000 are from Baghdad alone.
