Iraq faces huge challenges to oust Daesh from Al Anbar
RESIDENTS ARE TERRIFIED OF THE ARRIVAL OF IRAN-BACKED MILITIAS, TRIBAL LEADERS SAY
Iraqi forces are on a westward push to retake Al Anbar, a sprawling desert province captured by Daesh in their offensive last year. But as the battles for Tikrit and Ramadi have shown, it will be a hard slog for a much-diminished Iraqi army — especially given Baghdad’s reticence to arm tribesmen and local fears of the militias backing government forces.
Earlier this month, Iraqi forces captured the northern city of Tikrit from Daesh, but only with the backing from Iranian-trained and Iran-funded militias and US air strikes — methods that cannot work in Al Anbar province.
Daesh is estimated to hold at least 65 per cent of the vast province at this point.
The past weeks of see-saw battles in Al Anbar, with progress in areas like Garma east of Fallujah, a stalemate in the biggest city of Ramadi and an Iraqi rout near Lake Tharthar, show the army still needs help. But relying on erstwhile militia allies may not be palatable to locals.
“The Iraqi soldiers fighting in Al Anbar are not well-trained enough for this battle. Many of the soldiers are there for the money, but the [militias], they are believers in this fight,” said an Iraqi brigadier general involved in the Al Anbar campaign. “There isn’t yet a clear plan to liberate Al Anbar because of the political and tribal disputes.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists, he said some tribes might be supportive but others were with Daesh. On Friday, government reports of advances in Al Anbar were belied by a Daesh attack on a water control system on a canal north of Daesh-occupied Fallujah that killed a division commander and at least a dozen soldiers.
Dhari Al Rishawi, a tribal leader in Al Anbar who helped form the Sunni militias known as Sahwa or Awakening Councils, which with the US military drove Al Qaida out of the province in 2006, said people are terrified that the army will be bringing the Iran-backed militias. “We are caught between the hammer of Daesh and the anvil of the militias and we don’t know where to go,” Al Rishawi said.