Sunni Muslim fighters clash with troops trying to regain control of Ramadi, Friday prayers

Описание: (3 Jan 2014) Sunni Muslim fighters clashed on Friday with Iraqi troops trying to regain control of two western cities in a serious escalation of their confrontation with the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Thousands of anti-government tribal fighters took over local government buildings in the two main cities of Anbar province, Falluja and Ramadi, on Wednesday after the army pulled back in an attempt to calm the situation.
Fighting broke out on Thursday, tribal leaders and security officials said, when the army tried to re-enter the cities.
Tension has been running high in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar since Iraqi police broke up a Sunni protest camp on Monday, leaving at least 13 people dead.
Many of Iraq's minority Sunnis, who held most positions of power under the late Saddam Hussein, are resentful of Shiite dominance since the US-led invasion that toppled him in 2003 and led to elections that shifted the balance in favour of the majority sect.
The dismantled camp in Anbar had been an irritant to Maliki since it was set up a year ago by Sunnis protesting against what they see as the marginalising of their sect.
A Sunni tribe in Anbar threatened to "set Iraq on fire" if Maliki's government does not free Ahmed al-Alwani, a prominent Sunni lawmaker from the Iraqiya bloc, who was arrested on Saturday on terrorism charges.
Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaida have also stormed police stations across Anbar, seizing weapons caches, freeing dozens of prisoners and burning down the stations after chasing out the police and letting looters in.
Al-Qaida is trying to tout itself as the champion of Iraq's Sunnis.
Yet many Sunni tribes remain deeply opposed to al-Qaida, even as they complain of discrimination by al-Maliki's government.


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