BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOODS ORGANIZING THEIR OWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000665

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2026
TAGS: PGOV PINS IZ
SUBJECT: BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOODS ORGANIZING THEIR OWN
SECURITY

Classified By: Pol Couns Robert Ford, reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Since the attack last week on the Shia
mosque in Samarra, district advisory councils (DACs)
chairman in two Sunni Arab districts within the city have
told POLOFF of how neighborhoods are organizing to protect
themselves against attacks by Shia militias. Separately,
another political contact from a third neighborhood told us
that his neighborhood also has organized self-defense
watches. These sources all stated that confidence in
government forces and organizations is minimal, these
sources stated. END SUMMARY.

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MILITIAS ARE INVADING THE NEIGHBORHOODS
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2. (C) On March 2 at a meeting of members of the Baghdad
City Council, two chairmen of DACs within the City of
Baghdad told POLOFF of recent problems in their districts.
Dr. Jafar Al-Ali, Chairman of Al-Mansour DAC, and Ziad Al-
Tarik, Chairman of the Al-Rusafa DAC, both said their areas
were threatened by Shia militias. Dr. Jafar said members
of the Al-Mahdi Army were moving into his district to seize
various homes and other unoccupied property. Ziad claimed
members of both the Al-Mahdi Army and Badr Brigade were
entering his district to intimidate and kill. Both men
reported to POLOFF their neighborhoods in their districts
had started to respond to the threats by taking security
into their own hands.

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RESIDENTS READY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES
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3. (C) During the week of February 23 to March 2 residents
of neighborhoods in Al-Mansour had started living on the
roofs at night. POLOFF asked if that action was taken for
safety reasons. Jafar al-Ali responded that residents were
doing this to observe their streets and shoot at any
militias, terrorists, or insurgents entering their
neighborhoods. Meanwhile, according to Ziad, recently-
armed militias had started moving uninterrupted into the
borders of the Al-Rusafa District. Ziad said these
militias were trying to control his district and selected
neighborhoods. Ziad asserted the actions of the militias
would be unsuccessful because district residents are
prepared to patrol their own neighborhoods and take
security matters into their own hands. Both gentlemen told
PolOff it was no use contacting members of the army or
police as they were probably associated with the
insurgents, terrorists, or militias.


4. (C) Separately, an Iraqi who works quietly with the
Anglican Church here told us privately on February 24 that
in his neighborhood of Zayuna, in east Baghdad, residents
cooperate in organizing overnight shifts to protect
themselves against Shia militias, especially the Mahdi
Army. He said that each street in the mixed Sunni-Shia-
Christian district of Zayuna has 5-6 groups that take turns
on watch. If they see gunmen they do not recognize, they
fire "warning shots" and if the gunmen do not turn around,
orders are to "shoot to kill." He said residents would not
trust the police because they are thought to be agents of
SCIRI and the Badr Corps.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) All the above sources are credible. These and
other contacts among the Baghdad's once-confident
Sunni Arab community describe that community as very
apprehensive now; other communities are too. Worry about
the credibility of the security forces is not new; we have
been hearing complaints for months. What is new is the
more frequent anecdotal reporting we hear about
neighborhoods organizing their own armed neighborhood watch
teams. At the same time, in these times of highly
publicized stories of men in black appearing in
neighborhoods, the fears of our contacts may be excessive
to the relative threat. That said, in the end, it is the
perceptions that drive the Sunnis' fears.
SATTERFIELD