SUNNI TRIBAL LEADER CONCERNED ABOUT CONTINUED VIOLENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000113

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/4/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF IZ
SUBJECT: SUNNI TRIBAL LEADER CONCERNED ABOUT CONTINUED VIOLENCE

REF: BASRAH 105

CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b)

CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b)


1. (C) On July 2, the Regional Coordinator (RC) met with Sheikh
Adnan Majeed al-Ghanim, the head of the al-Ghanim tribe. The RC
opened the meeting by expressing his wishes for the rapid
recovery of the sheikh's son, who was wounded in an
assassination attempt on June 12 in Basrah. The RC also
inquired about the sheikh's recent trip to Baghdad. Sheikh
Adnan responded that he met with Vice President Tarek al-Hashemi
and a political officer at the U.S. Embassy on June 20.


2. (C) The sheikh alleged that local Shia militias, backed by
Iran, are intensifying their violent campaign against Sunnis
with the intention of driving them out of the region. The
sheikh said that in the past several days eight people have been
killed and he himself evaded an assassination attempt in Zubair.
Two days after the failed attempt, the sheikh received a
written death threat, which he believed originated from Iranian
intelligence. The sheikh told the RC that Governor Mohammed
al-Wa'eli had not delivered on promises to bring the militias
under control and that the Iraqi army and police are of no help
because they are linked to the militias.


3. (C) The sheikh asserted that between 800 and 1,000 Sunni
families have left the area to seek safety in Mosul, Bayji,
Tikrit, and, for the affluent ones, Syria. He noted that he had
decided to move his tribe, which he claimed to be the biggest
Sunni clan in southern Iraq, to Mosul. He reversed his decision
after other local Sunni leaders convinced him that the tribe's
departure would have catastrophic consequences for the Sunnis
remaining in Basrah.


4. (C) Sheikh Adnan inquired about the possibility of Sunni
leaders obtaining refugee status in the United States. The RC
expressed the hope that Sheikh Adnan would not leave Basrah.
The sheikh requested money from the United States for members of
the Sunni community, who out of fear are staying in their homes
and not opening their businesses. The RC made it clear that his
office had no funds to disburse but would ensure that the
current plight of the Sunnis in Basrah is brought to the
attention of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and to Washington.


5. (C) Comment: Sheik Adnan's description of the effect the
violence in Basrah is having on the Sunni community echoes what
we have heard from other Sunni contacts. The declaration of the
state of emergency in Basrah has not decreased the level of
violence and the threats directed against the Sunnis, and unless
an effective security clampdown begins soon, the departure of
Sunni families could turn into an exodus. End Comment.

GROSS