SUNNIS RETURNING TO BASRAH?

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000140 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/28/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF IZ SUBJECT: SUNNIS RETURNING TO BASRAH? REF: (A) BASRAH 113 (B) BASRAH 105 (C) BASRAH 101 (D) BASRAH 89 (E) BASRAH 78 (F) BASRAH 54 CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Regional Coordinator (RC) and poloff held separate meetings with three prominent Sunni leaders - Sheik Khalid al-Mullah, Sheik Yusif al-Hamdani and Sheik Adnan al-Ghanim - to determine if there has been any improvement in the security environment for Sunnis in Basrah All three sheiks agreed that the situation for Sunnis continues to be miserable and assassinations and threats still occur regularly. The sheiks cited the lack of security and the absence of assistance from the local government and the security forces as the main reason for the continuing exodus of Sunnis. A few Sunni families have returned to Basrah, but only because living conditions elsewhere are just as bad or dangerous. End summary. NO IMPROVEMENT IN SECURITY ¶2. (C) The RC in the last week held separate meetings with three prominent Sunni sheiks to discuss the plight of Sunnis in Basrah. (Reftels describe the deteriorating security conditions for Sunnis in Basrah during the last six months.) According to Sheik Khalid al-Mullah, a moderate Sunni imam and close Regional Embassy Office (REO) contact, the situation in Basrah has not improved. He lamented that Basrah lacks all basic services and its few remaining Sunnis are still targets of militias and death squads. Sheik Yusif al-Hamadi expressed the same sentiments and said that continued threats have caused Sunnis in Basrah to hide their identities and to refrain from going to mosques to pray. All three sheiks offered examples of killings of members of their tribes or close associates in recent days as proofs of continued assassinations. NO ONE IS HELPING ¶3. (C) The sheiks echoed one another's belief that the Iraqi Police Service (IPS) in Basrah is responsible for the majority of assassinations. When asked if the Iraqi Army (IA) provides protection, they gave slightly different opinions. Sheik Yusif gave credit to the IA and Majed al-Sari, the Ministry of Defense representative in Basrah, for helping protect Sunnis and for responding to their calls for help. He explained that when the IA entered a Sunni home to make an arrest, the officers are respectful of the occupants of the home and conduct their searches in a reasonable manner. However, Sheik Adnan al-Ghanim opined that the IA had been infiltrated and were loyal to various members of the local government and political parties. ¶4. (C) Sheik Yusif said that Sunni leaders have had many meetings with Basrah Provincial Council members and the Governor, but received only empty promises. Sheik Khalid stressed that the Sunnis do not have anyone to turn to for help. Sheik Khalid admitted that he believed that if he were a terrorist, he would be able to make more people listen to him. SUNNI FAMILIES RETURN - "I'D RATHER DIE IN MY HOME" ¶5. (C) Some Sunni families have returned to Basrah, but the estimates on the numbers fluctuate. According to Sheik Adnan, 20-30 families have returned; Sheik Yusif believes that as many as 150 families have come back. All of the sheiks explained that the families returned because their new homes (mostly in Beyji and Mosul) were almost as violent as Basrah and employment opportunities just as chimerical. The sheiks said that many returnees said that they preferred to die in their own homes rather than in a strange land. COMMENT ¶6. (C) Comment: The situation for the Sunni community in Basrah remains bleak. A stable and secure Basrah is still only a faint hope for most residents, and the Sunni community is among the most vulnerable groups. All of the sheiks agreed that until the overall security situation improves and the Shia militias are eliminated, Sunnis would not be able to resume a normal life in Basrah. Governor al-Wa'eli told the RC on August 21 that he had assured the Sunni community that he would provide for their security if they returned and that they now were streaming back to Basrah. The Sunni leaders scoffed at this suggestion and noted that the only reason Sunni families have returned to Basrah is because they believe there is no safe harbor for them anywhere in Iraq. End comment. GROSS