Iraqi Sunnis four times more likely to be killed than Shiites
spinifex | 06.03.2006 01:36 | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism
Respected Beirut-based journalist Robert Fisk claims that Sunni Arabs in Iraq are being killed at four times the rate of Shiite Arabs in continuing violence in Iraq, contradicting mainstream media reports which portray the Shiites as the main victims of ongoing sectarian violence.
Fisk made his claim during a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"Yeah, look, in August, I went into the same mortuary and found out that 1,000 people had died in one month in July. And most of those people who had died were split 50/50 between the Sunnies and the Shiites, but most of them, including women who'd been blindfolded and hands tied behind their backs - I saw the corpses - were both Sunnies and Shiites."
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1582067.htm
Sunnis represent about 20 per cent of the Arabic population of Iraqi society, which is dominated by Shiites who comprise 80 per cent of the population.
Fisk's bodycount would put the Sunni death rate at four times that of Shiites.
"What is going on in Iraq at the moment is extremely mysterious," said Fisk.
"I go to Iraq and I can't crack this story at the moment. Some of my colleagues are still trying to, but can't do it. It's not as simple as it looks. I don't believe we've got all these raving lunatics wandering around blowing up mosques. There's much more to this than meets the eye. All of these death squads that move around are part of the security forces. In some cases they are Shiite security forces or clearly Sunni security forces. When the Iraqi army go into Sunni cities they are Shiite soldiers going in. We are not making this clear. Iraqi troops, we've got an extra battalion. The Iraqi army is building up. The Iraqi army is split apart. Somebody is operating these people. I don't know who they are."
Nahrain Toma, a Sunni welfare worker argues that the Sunnis have been stripped of their rights, and these have been given to Shiites and Kurds;
"Toma said the (Kurdish and Shiite militia) tactics were eroding what remained of U.S. credibility as the militias operate under what many Iraqis view as the blessing of American and British forces. "Nobody wants anything to do with the Americans anymore," she said. "Why? Because they gave the power to the Kurds and to the Shiites. No one else has any rights."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082001317.html
"Yeah, look, in August, I went into the same mortuary and found out that 1,000 people had died in one month in July. And most of those people who had died were split 50/50 between the Sunnies and the Shiites, but most of them, including women who'd been blindfolded and hands tied behind their backs - I saw the corpses - were both Sunnies and Shiites."
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1582067.htm Sunnis represent about 20 per cent of the Arabic population of Iraqi society, which is dominated by Shiites who comprise 80 per cent of the population.
Fisk's bodycount would put the Sunni death rate at four times that of Shiites.
"What is going on in Iraq at the moment is extremely mysterious," said Fisk.
"I go to Iraq and I can't crack this story at the moment. Some of my colleagues are still trying to, but can't do it. It's not as simple as it looks. I don't believe we've got all these raving lunatics wandering around blowing up mosques. There's much more to this than meets the eye. All of these death squads that move around are part of the security forces. In some cases they are Shiite security forces or clearly Sunni security forces. When the Iraqi army go into Sunni cities they are Shiite soldiers going in. We are not making this clear. Iraqi troops, we've got an extra battalion. The Iraqi army is building up. The Iraqi army is split apart. Somebody is operating these people. I don't know who they are."
Nahrain Toma, a Sunni welfare worker argues that the Sunnis have been stripped of their rights, and these have been given to Shiites and Kurds;
"Toma said the (Kurdish and Shiite militia) tactics were eroding what remained of U.S. credibility as the militias operate under what many Iraqis view as the blessing of American and British forces. "Nobody wants anything to do with the Americans anymore," she said. "Why? Because they gave the power to the Kurds and to the Shiites. No one else has any rights."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082001317.html
spinifex