SITUATION IN BASRAH CALMER, BUT STILL VOLATILE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000027 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/23/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM IZ SUBJECT: SITUATION IN BASRAH CALMER, BUT STILL VOLATILE REF: A) BAGHDAD 574, B) BASRAH 26 BASRAH 00000027 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: KEN GROSS, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO BASRAH, DEPARTMENT OF STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Relative calm reigned in Basrah on February 23 in marked contrast to February 22's violent demonstrations triggered by the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. Demonstrations of thousands of people continued to take place, but were largely peaceful and without significant event. The Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) called a curfew for tonight. The most troubling incident over the past 24 hours in Basrah was the removal of twelve Sunni prisoners from the Al Mina jail during the night of February 22, and the extrajudicial killing of eleven of them. Word on the streets of Basrah is that American and Jewish elements were behind the mosque attack, not Sunnis. End Summary. Demonstrations Continue in Basrah -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Demonstrations involving thousands took place throughout Basrah on February 23, but were largely peaceful. Basrah's predominantly Shia population appeared to be following Ayatollah's Sistani's instructions to remain calm, though some demonstrators reportedly were armed with small arms, automatic weapons, and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). Several contacts reported that Jeyish Al Mahdi (JAM) militia members, many dressed in black with covered faces, were "ruling the streets" in Basrah on February 23. MND-SE contacts reported that they are keeping a low profile and monitoring the situation, but are not attempting to get involved on the ground. They are letting Iraqi security forces take the lead in handling the situation and responding to incidents. Iraqi police, at least those acting in their official capacity and not as JAM members, reportedly were not present in Basrah in any appreciable numbers, and the Iraqi Army was not deployed in the city. Extrajudicial Killings of Sunni Prisoners -------------- --- ¶3. (SBU) British civilian and military sources informed the Basrah Regional Embassy Office (REO) that at approximately 2000 hours on February 22, twelve prisoners were removed from the Al Mina jail in Basrah by ten men with identification cards from the Ministry of Interior's Intelligence services. (Note: The Head of the Al Mina prison is the brother-in-law of Basrah Governor Mohammed Waeli. End Note.) The twelve prisoners were all Sunni, described as "Wahabi," and included two Egyptians, two Tunisians, one Libyan, one Saudi, and one Turk, in addition to five Iraqis. (See Ref A for additional discussion.) The bodies of eleven prisoners were found within hours of their removal from the prison. One Iraqi prisoner was wounded but survived, treated at a hospital and returned to jail. (Comment: Governor Mohammed is reported to be in hiding in his home in Basrah. Attempts by the Regional Coordinator to contact him were unsuccessful - the Governor's cell phone was turned off, and his secretary said he was in Baghdad. End Comment) REO's Condolence Messages -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The REO contacted the BPC Chairman and council members to express condolences for the destruction of the Samarra mosque. These expressions of sympathy were well received. The Basrah Regional Coordinator (RC) contacted Aqeel Hussain Sajet, newly elected parliamentarian and political chief of the Office of the Martyr Sadr (OMS) party, expressing condolences and urging calm. Aqeel expressed appreciation for the condolences and assured the RC that the demonstrations would remain peaceful and were simply a part of the "mourning process." He agreed that the attack on the Samarra mosque was a terrorist event, and stated that the perpetrators must be caught and punished. The Embassy Baghdad press releases and the White House statement expressing condolences for the Samarra mosque were disseminated to local press contacts. More on Yesterday's Attacks -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The REO contacted a Sunni political party leader, Haji Khalaf Issa, to follow-up on yesterday's events (see Ref B). Haji Khalaf said that the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) headquarters had been attacked with small arms and grenades, and that the first floor of the building had been severely burned. People inside the building survived by escaping to the roof and later evacuating the building. No hostages were taken from the IIP building. He said that despite repeated requests for assistance, his party received no response from the local BASRAH 00000027 002.2 OF 002 government or from the Coalition. He said that five people were injured in the attack and two guards died in the hospital after being wounded. He reported that five Sunni mosques were damaged by fire or looted: Al Salam, Ashra Al Mabshra, Al Talha, Al Fiyah, and Al Hamza. Haji Khalaf put the blame for the attacks squarely on the shoulders of the local government for not taking any action. ¶6. (SBU) Abdul Karim, an IIP party official, reported that two guards from the Sunni Religious Department in Basrah were arrested on the afternoon of February 22 as they distributed leaflets during a demonstration that expressed Sunni condolences for the Samarra mosque. According to the contact, these two guards were killed during the night, but we have no additional information to confirm this assertion. ¶7. (SBU) Anwar Al Jebor, Director of Al Iraqiya TV and Radio in Basrah, reported seeing Iraqi police attacking Sunni mosques on February 22. She said that men wearing black clothes with their faces covered and carrying weapons were present in large numbers in the city, some of whom followed her. She said that journalists in Basrah were afraid for their lives after hearing of the deaths of Al Arabiya journalists in Baghdad. Sentiments Turn Against Coalition -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Accusations that the Coalition, the United States, and "Jewish elements" were behind the bombing of the Samarra Mosque began circulating in Basrah, apparently spread by Al Jazeera and local news stations. An REO local staff member reported that demonstrators from OMS and Jayish al Mahdi blamed the mosque attack on the presence of the Coalition. Demonstrators in Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province reportedly blamed the bombing on U.S. forces and passed out pamphlets accusing the United States of the attack. The Director of News Programming at Al Iraqiya in Basrah reported that anger against Sunnis appears to be dying down in Basrah, and is now being redirected against the Coalition. People in Basrah are blaming U.S. forces for the attack on the mosque. She said that the press release from Embassy Baghdad would be important to counter this perception, and she will work to disseminate it to the public. However, she cautioned that the Samarra mosque had historic value to the Shia and could never be replaced; U.S. officials should not expect that the offer to help rebuild the mosque would pacify Shias. Basrah Provincial Council Actions -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The BPC told the REO that the situation is under control. The council has imposed a curfew on February 23-24 from 2000 to 0600 in response to the violence. The BPC stated that they stand with their Sunni brothers who have condemned the Samarra mosque bombing. ¶10. (C) Comment: Although the heated reaction to the Samarra mosque attack of yesterday appears to have died down, large demonstrations likely will persist in Basrah for several more days. In response to an offer by the RC to come to the BPC building to present a copy of the Ambassador's condolence message, the BPC Chairman said that he could not guarantee his safety and confided that BPC members would not come to the governorate building on February 24 because of their fears of possible violence. The security forces' paucity of efforts to establish some form of control or presence in Basrah is disturbing. The abdication of security responsibilities to the JAM has not resulted in widespread violence, but the potential remains. End Comment. GROSS