Iraq's 'Awakening' vets cautious about post-IS period
Iraq's Sunni tribal fighters fear they will be isolated from Iraqi society after the elimination of the Islamic State.
ERBIL, Iraq — Though Sunni tribal fighters work alongside the Shiite-dominant Population Mobilization Units (PMU) in the war against the Islamic State, memories of what came after the 2006 Anbar Awakening have left many in Iraq’s westernmost region wary.
Several residents of Anbar who took part in the fighting a decade ago, which wrested much of the region from al-Qaeda control, say they were detained in subsequent years by the authorities on frivolous charges.
The current head of the provincial council, Ahmed Hameed al-Sharqi, for example, told Al-Monitor in January that he had been jailed and released only after an enormous bribe had been paid and the US military acted as a mediator to secure his release.
After the first leader of the Awakening, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, was targeted and killed by al-Qaeda in 2007, his brother Ahmad Abu Risha took over the leadership of the Anbar Salvation Council. A warrant was issued in October for his arrest under Iraq’s anti-terrorism law, and he is thought to have left the country.
