Shia militias threaten the Sunni in Baghdad
The security situation in Iraq has changed fundamentally since the jihadist organisation Islamic State (IS) began to seize territory in central Iraq and around Baghdad. This is apparent from a recent theme report published by the Country Information Service of the Finnish Immigration Service.
“Human rights violations committed by the Shia militias opposing IS in the Baghdad area have now become a significant reason for seeking asylum,” officials at the Country Information Service say.
Daily IS bombings of Shia districts in Baghdad make the city unsafe. The Shia militias that have deployed to defend the city with the Iraqi security forces prompt fear among the Sunni population. The Sunni in Baghdad, who have nothing to do with IS, have to face Shia persecution, retaliatory action and even executions.
Majority oppressing the minority
Ever since the end of the civil war (2006–2007), the Sunni have been discontented with the actions of the Shia administration. They feel that the administration is discriminating against them. The unwillingness of the Shia administration to integrate the Sunni into the administration sparked public protests between 2011 and 2013. The authorities suppressed these demonstrations violently.
The report indicates that once IS began advancing into Iraq, human rights infringements by the Shia militias against the Sunni increased. The Sunni were regarded as IS supporters. When IS took Mosul in June 2014 and the Iraqi army beat a retreat, the Shia militias began to organise themselves in order to defend Iraq and Baghdad in particular.
During the regime of former President Saddam Hussein, the Sunni were the ruling class even though the Shia constituted the majority of the population. When the USA brought down Saddam Hussein in 2003, the Shia began to engage in politics, and in the election of 2005 they gained power.
The Sunni and Shia communities, which had previously coexisted peacefully in Baghdad, segregated themselves into Sunni and Shia districts in the city after the civil war. “After the civil war, the situation in Baghdad calmed down significantly for a while,” the report notes.
| Themes for country information reports from asylum interview protocols |
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| The present theme report is an outcome of the Suuntaus project, a country information development project funded by the European Refugee Fund. There are four country information researchers involved in the project, seeking to identify current recurring themes in the protocols of interviews with persons seeking asylum in Finland. Topics for theme reports – public documents based on information from public sources – have been collected from a total of more than 300 interview protocols. Theme reports on Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and stateless persons will be published during spring and summer 2015. The Country Information Service of the Finnish Immigration Service constantly collects information on the countries of origin of asylum seekers. The Suuntaus project is part of this work. The information acquired helps the immigration officials making permit decisions. |
Further information:
Project Manager Arno Tanner, tel. +358 295 430 431, firstname.lastname@migri.fi
