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Iraq bloodshed stokes fears of sectarian conflict

Agence France-PresseApril 25, 2013 06:46
The deaths of more than 100 people in violence between Iraqi security forces and Sunni Arab protesters and their supporters have raised fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict. The trouble began on Tuesday when security forces moved into an area near the northern town of Hawijah where Sunnis had been holding protests since January, sparking clashes in which 53 people died. That fighting set off a wave of revenge attacks that hit five different Sunni-majority provinces, killing dozens more people, and which saw gunmen take control of the town of Sulaiman Bek.

Iraq on edge after raid fuels deadly Sunni unrest

April 24, 2013 17:16
By Patrick Markey and Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - More than 30 people were killed in gun battles between Iraqi forces and militants on Wednesday, a day after a raid on a Sunni Muslim protest ignited the fiercest clashes since American troops left the country. The second day of fighting threatens to deepen sectarian rifts in Iraq where relations between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims are still very tense just a few years after inter-communal slaughter pushed the country close to civil war.

Sunni mosque attacks kill 13 in Iraq

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 14:37
Bomb attacks on Sunni mosques in Iraq killed 13 people and wounded dozens of other people on Tuesday, security and medical officials said. Two rounds of mortar fire hit a mosque in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 25, police and a doctor said, revising an earlier casualty toll. Earlier, two roadside bombs exploded as Sunni worshippers were leaving dawn prayers in south Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 14, an interior ministry official and medic said.

Protesters kill six Iraqi soldiers

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 11:02
Armed protesters killed six Iraqi soldiers and kidnapped a seventh on Tuesday near Ramadi, west of Baghdad, a police officer said. The protesters also burned two armoured personnel carriers and were holding the kidnapped soldier at the site of their sit-in on the highway near Ramadi, First Lieutenant Ibrahim Faraj said. The killings were an apparent response to protest-related violence in the north Iraq province of Kirkuk earlier in the day that left dozens of people dead.

Tensions high after Iraq forces raid Sunni camp, 23 dead

April 23, 2013 04:00
By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed when Iraqi security forces stormed a Sunni Muslim protest camp near Kirkuk on Tuesday, triggering a gun battle between troops and protesters and provoking insurgent attacks in other areas. It was the worst fighting Iraq has seen since thousands of Sunni Muslims started staging protests in December to demand an end to perceived marginalisation of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.

Frustrated Iraqi Sunnis protest, fear they being sidelined

April 22, 2013 12:45
By Kamal Naama RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis in Sunni provinces boycotted government offices, closed shops and deserted universities on Monday in the latest protests by the minority sect which fears it is being marginalised by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Streets in the Sunni-majority provinces of Anbar, Nineveh and Salahuddin were mostly empty after people shuttered their shops or stayed away from work in what protest leaders said was an attempt to put pressure on Baghdad.

Iraq counts votes from first polls since US pullout

Agence France-PresseApril 21, 2013 04:45
Election officials began tallying votes on Sunday from Iraq's first elections since US troops departed, a contest that served as a key test of its stability amid a spike in violence. Attacks killed three people on election day, a fraction of those who died in a wave of violence preceding the polls on Saturday, which seemed generally well-organised. Turnout for the provincial vote was about 51 percent, according to officials from Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission.

Iraq counts votes from first polls since US pullout

Agence France-PresseApril 20, 2013 21:45
Iraqi election officials were to begin counting votes on Sunday from the country's first elections since US troops departed, which served as a key test of its stability amid a spike in violence. Attacks killed three people on election day, a fraction of those who died in a wave of violence preceding Saturday's polls, which seemed generally well-organised, according to diplomats touring polling stations and AFP journalists. Turnout for the provincial vote was about 51 percent, according to officials from Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission.

Iraq holds first polls since US pullout as attacks spike

Agence France-PresseApril 20, 2013 15:46
Iraqis voted on Saturday in the country's first polls since US troops departed, a key test of its stability in the face of a spike in attacks that has claimed more than 100 lives. But the credibility of the provincial elections has come into question, with attacks on candidates leaving 14 dead and a third of Iraq's provinces -- all of them mainly Sunni Arab or Kurdish -- not even voting due to security concerns and political disputes with the Shiite-led government.

Iraq holds first polls since US pullout as attacks spike

Agence France-PresseApril 20, 2013 11:30
Iraqis voted on Saturday in the country's first polls since US troops departed, a key test of its stability in the face of a spike in attacks that has claimed more than 100 lives. But the credibility of the provincial elections has come into question, with attacks on candidates leaving 14 dead and a third of Iraq's provinces -- all of them mainly Sunni Arab or Kurdish -- not even voting due to security concerns and political disputes.
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