Clashes erupted on Saturday between Iraqi troops and a US-backed Sunni neighbourhood patrol after the soldiers arrested the units leader in Baghdad, an Iraqi security spokesman said. Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said the firefight with the Sunni Arab fighters in al-Fadhil, central Baghdad, broke out after Iraqi forces seized Adil al-Mashhadani and one of his men on charges of terrorism.
A Reuters reporter heard heavy gunfire near the scene and saw Iraqi army snipers on roofs all around the neighbourhood. "Iraqi forces arrested al Mashhadani because they had a judicial warrant. The clashes started because of this," Moussawi said. There were as yet no casualties, he said. Called Awakening Councils or "Sahwa" in Arabic, the units are led mostly by Sunni Arab tribal sheikhs and comprise many former insurgents. They have been credited with drastically cutting violence, routing Sunni Islamist al Qaeda from parts of Baghdad, western Anbar province and some northern towns.
There are around 100,000 members nation-wide, who were paid by the US military, but last year the Iraqi government started taking over the programme. It will soon pay all of them itself, until it absorbs 20 percent into its own security services and finds civilian jobs for the rest. How Iraq handles them is seen as a major test of reconciliation as the United States prepares to pull its combat troops out of Iraq by August 31, 2010.
Many former insurgents in the programme feared being arrested or pursued in sectarian vendettas, despite assurances by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that this would not happen. US officials have said a dangerous situation could ensue if Malikis Shiite-led government fails to reconcile with these Sunni Arab fighters, although they say Iraq has the right to detain those against whom they have grave charges, such as murder or terrorism.
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