Iraq: Harsh Tactics in Advance of Holy Month

(Baghdad) – Iraqi security forces have been surrounding and closing off majority Sunni neighborhoods, effectively shutting residents inside, raiding homes, and carrying out mass arrests in advance of the Muslim holy month of Muharram, Human Rights Watch said today. The Iraqi government should take measures to prevent the escalation of sectarian attacks on Shia during the holy month without resorting to repressive measures such as indiscriminate arrests.

In recent years, Sunni extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq have claimed responsibility for attacks that killed hundreds of Shias during Muharram, particularly during processions to Karbala and to Baghdad’s Kadhimiyya neighborhood on the holy day of Ashura to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, Shia Islam’s holiest martyr. On Ashura, which this year fell on November 14, a suicide attacker and twin bomb blas ttargeted Shia pilgrims in al-Saadiyah, north of Baghdad, and Hafriyah, south of Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100.

As in years past, Iraqi authorities have tightened security ahead of Ashura. But residents of Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad and across the country said security forces have been particularly harsh this year. “The government should do its utmost to enable Shias to participate in holy month processions without fearing attack, but it needs to focus on thwarting attackers, and not besiege entire communities,” saidEric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch spoke to dozens of witnesses who said that throughout the first week of Muharram, which began on November 5, security forces, including agents from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the Counterterrorism Service (CTS), have raided homes and arrested people en masse in Baghdad’s Dora and Adhamiyya neighborhoods, and in the cities of Diwaniya, Falluja, Hitt, and Hilla, among others. Sunni extremist groups attacked Shia worshippers in the days leading up to Ashura. On October 8, a suicide bomber attacked Shia worshipers in Adhamiyya, killing at least 49 people and wounding 75. On November 13, a suicide bomber targeted a group of Shia worshipers commemorating Ashura in the eastern city of Baquba, killing eight people, including two children, and wounding thirty-five. In past years, Sunni insurgents have repeatedly targeted Shias on holy days, particularly during Ashura processions. In 2012, insurgents killed 62 people in two attacks on Shias on Ashura and the days immediately following. On June 14, 2012, a Shia holiday commemorating the death of Imam Moussa Kadhem, coordinated bombings and shootings around Iraq killed 72 people and wounded 200, mostly Shia worshippers. On March 2, 2004, insurgents killed 180 Shia pilgrims in Baghdad’s Kadhimiyya neighborhood and in Karbala, in what became known as the “Ashura Massacre,” one of the deadliest days in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Insurgent attacks escalated drastically this year after army and SWAT forces attacked a protest camp in Hawija in April. Iraqi security forces have intensified their use of harsh tactics, such as arbitrary raids on homes and mass arrests in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods, especially in the lead up to Ashura. Based on accounts by witnesses, since November 7 security forces have carried out operations in which they invaded every home in sections of predominantly Sunni neighborhoods of various cities, detained many of the male residents without showing arrest warrants, and held them for several days – without notifying family members of their whereabouts or taking them before an investigative judge within 48 hours, as required by Iraqi law. Many of those detained have not yet been released, the witnesses told Human Rights Watch.

(2013-11-16/hrw)