Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

Documentation for Awakening groups / Sahwa

Dec. 18, 2006
Newsweek

U.S. commanders are hoping tribal levies can help fill the ranks of Anbar's police and tackle Al Qaeda.
After one well-known tribal leader was assassinated this summer, a group of 15 Ramadi sheiks banded together for survival's sake. They called themselves Sawa--Arabic for "the awakening"--and cut a deal with the Americans: in exchange for protection against Al Qaeda, they would bring local police ranks up to strength.

Monthly police enlistments in Ramadi...to the full Coalition quota of 400 a month. Recruits keep pouring in: the Americans had to set up a special 3,000-member Emergency Response Unit to accommodate the flood of volunteers. Elders of the Abu Soda tribe recently helped U.S. forces find IEDs that had been planted by their own tribesmen, and they have identified kidnappers and other local bad guys for the Americans to arrest. Their effectiveness against Al Qaeda is another question: while the Americans say attacks by local resistance fighters in Anbar have dropped by 40 percent, U.S. deaths there have continued at a rate of more than two dozen a month.

Still, Sawa's membership has risen to some 60 tribal leaders. Its founder, Sheik Abdel Sittar, does TV spots to encourage more police recruits. "All the honest people follow me," he says. "The good people. Even some tribes that were with the insurgency follow us." The sheik...is building a marble-lined council meeting hall (funded by Sawa) inside his compound.

Some lawmakers in Baghdad fear that Sawa could become one more sectarian militia, but Lechner scoffs at such worries. "We would turn that off in a heartbeat," he says. All it would take is a threat to withdraw police protection from the offending sheik's neighborhood. Can Sawa restore law and order in Anbar? The Americans can only hope so. No one seems to have a better plan.

Dec. 27, 2006
Federal News Service

BRIEFING BY MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM CALDWELLAnbar
1st IraqiArmy Division and coalitionadvisers struck 10 targets on the morningof December 22nd in the largest Iraqi army assault to date in thatlocation. These ground and air assets were based upon intelligence provided by the Iraqi grassroots anti-insurgency group the
Anbar Awakening.

Dec. 20, 2007
The Guardian

US soldiers call them "concerned local citizens"; Iraqis just call them sahwa (awakening) after the so-called Anbar awakening in western Iraq, which has seen Sunni tribal sheikhs take on foreign-led Islamists.
There are now an estimated 72,000 members in some 300 groups set up in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces, and the numbers are growing. They are funded, but supposedly not armed, by the US military.
..dominated by Sunnis,..An increasing number of Shia are now joining their ranks, some in a bid to counter the influence of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army in their area.

Dec. 23, 2007
The New York Times

In the summer of 2005, the Abu Mahals needed help. A tribe of notorious smugglers by the Syrian border, they were being pushed out of their own area by a competing tribe that had struck a deal with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, ..So when the tribe proposed an alliance, the Americans decided to give it a try. Weapons and training flowed to the tribe, the extremists were pushed back on their heels -- and the Awakening was born.
..hardly any Awakening members outside Anbar have actually been moved off the American payroll and into Iraqi government jobs.
Of the 43,000 new Awakening members in Baghdad Province, for example, only about 1,700, in the suburban community of Abu Ghraib, have gotten jobs in the Iraqi police.
Many of the rest have applied for police jobs but for now are financed entirely by the Americans. The Awakening members are paid about $300 a month -- considerably less than the salaries of police officers or soldiers.

Dec. 27, 2007
The New York Times

American and Iraqi officials have said in recent weeks that the groups eventually should be disbanded to avoid competition with the Iraqi Army and the police. Under a proposal from the Americans, who still pay most members about $300 a month to take part, some of the Awakening groups would be integrated into the security forces while members of a larger portion would get civilian jobs from the government or private industry.

Jan. 7, 2008
The New York Times

Members of the Awakening groups have complained lately that they are increasingly caught between Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the Shiite-led Iraqi government, which is suspicious of the Awakening groups and has shown reluctance to integrate them into the security forces.
(...) ''The government supports the Awakening Councils, but it must safeguard itself from infiltration,'' he said.

Jan. 14, 2008
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

This programme was brought about as a result of the circumstances and security vacuum in the region. Contacts were held with the US forces and other security forces in the region to reorganize the security situation, which was miserable in the region as a result of the vacuum and the spread of the takfiri and militia forces.

Feb. 9, 2008
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Hundreds of members of the awakening councils have deployed in the streets of Ba'qubah after these councils decided to end their cooperation with the Iraqi and US forces. Iraqi police forces have clamped a curfew on the city following the decision, which was made in protest against the refusal of the governorate to meet several demands by the awakening councils.

March 27, 2008
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

[Al-Tamimi] The government's response is still slow. It agreed to incorporate 20 per cent of the Awakening Councils into the security services. This is a very modest figure. Even this 20 per cent is being implemented slowly. We hope the government will respond to us and incorporate all Awakening Councils' forces into the official government services because these services should not be monopolized by anyone. The government services should be the possession of all people and all governorates.
[Nasir] How are you financed?
[Al-Tamimi] We are self-financed.

Jan. 30, 2009
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Shaykh Ahmad Abu-Rishah, head of the Al-Anbar Awakening Council, has said that the awakening councils will support the Iraqi security forces that are tasked with bringing about security during the provincial councils' elections, which will be held tomorrow.

April 3, 2009
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

The US Army in Iraq has announced that ,responsibility for the awakening forces, whose number is about 49,000, has been completely turned over to the Iraqi government. A statement issued by the multinational forces said the Iraqi Government has allocated the necessary funds to pay the delayed salaries of the Awakening Councils' members in four governorates. The Iraqi Government had earlier announced that it would incorporate about 20 per cent of them into the security forces.

April 4, 2009
The Times

A mutiny in the ranks of a key Iraqi militia, credited with helping US forces to defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq, is threatening to plunge the country back into bloody sectarian violence.
The rebellion by some members of the Awakening Councils, a Sunni Arab paramilitary force of more than 90,000 men, could unravel the improvements in security since 2007.
If left unchecked it threatens to push the country back to the brink of civil war, pitting Sunnis against the Shias who dominate the Government.

Nov. 21, 2009
The International Herald Tribune

The Awakening Councils, also known as the Sons of Iraq, are local groups, including former insurgents and Baathists, who turned against the insurgency and received pay, first from the Americans and now from the Iraqis.

July 18, 2010
BBC News Middle East

Starting in Anbar province, Sunni tribesmen who had previously fought US and Iraqi government forces gradually allied themselves with the US military. (…) But the US military succeeded in winning them over by striking deals and bringing thousands on to the US payroll, arming and training them. (…) Sunni Arab tribes have also formed councils in Salaheddin, Diyala, Nineveh and Tamim provinces.

Oct. 9, 2010
BBC Monitoring Middle East

A leader of a Sahwa (Awakening) group survived an assassination attempt with an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to his vehicle in eastern Al-Falluhjah city on Saturday [9 October], according to a local police source in Al-Anbar province.

April 8, 2011
BBC Monitoring Middle East

US commander in Iraq discusses military strategy, security status

[…] Since 2007, the Sahwa have played a significant role in helping to create the relative security that Iraqis have today. The government of Iraq has demonstrated its commitment to the group by transitioning approximately 40,000 members to permanent employment, providing support to the families of those members killed in the line of duty, and paying them in a timely manner.
There has been a lull in transitions since the government and ISF leaders determined that the Sahwa were needed during the elections in March and the delay in forming the government. I am hopeful the government will keep its promise to incorporate the remaining Sahwa into meaningful jobs based on their qualifications. […]

Aug. 16, 2011
National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) Canada

Kanaan: gunmen using silenced weapons wound Ali al-Karkhi, a local government-backed Sahwa militia leader.

Jan. 31, 2012
BBC Monitoring Middle East

Ground forces commander denies media reports on dispensing Awakening pro-government militia members, stressing that remaining 30.000 members nationwide would be grated into state departments in coordination with national reconciliation commission. He adds that defense ministry is working to ensure their rights as they are working in important areas where there is need for them.

Jan. 31, 2014
The Washington Post

However, promises to incorporate Sahwa fighters into the state security forces failed to materialize after the U.S. withdrawal. Facing cuts in salaries and threats from the al-Qaeda militants they had fought against, numbers dwindled to less than half the more than 100,000 men who made up the movement at its peak.

After 2011, Ani said, Sahwa members "were left stuck in the middle between al-Qaeda's hammer and Maliki's neglect."

June 5, 2014
BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

He added that joint forces from the army and emergency regiments, which were recently set up by the Al-Anbar residents, in addition to awakening council members, carried out an attack on Friday on the Al-Maftul Crossing, the only one controlled by the armed men.

June 27, 2014
Al Jazeera – English

During 2006-2007, some IAI members were thought to have joined the US-backed Awakening Councils to fight al-Qaeda. The group also reportedly shifted its attention more towards what it considered growing Iranian influence inside Iraq, especially as US forces began to withdraw.
After a relatively inactive period, the group was seen as a supporter of the anti-government protests that has spread since 2011.
During the recent fighting, the group released a video , allegedly showing its troops patrolling the eastern areas of Baghdad. It also proclaimed its intention to enter the Iraqi capital. The group is thought to be more active in areas around Anbar and Baghdad.
It wants a political solution based on a federal state and demands the removal of Maliki from power.
(...)
The Awakening Councils

This group is made up of Sunni tribal fighters who oppose al-Qaeda and its presence in Iraq. In 2006, they helped US forces expel al-Qaeda from Sunni provinces, like Anbar, where the councils were established, and from Sunni districts in Baghdad.
At that time, the councils were estimated to have about 100,000 fighters who wanted to be integrated into Iraqi forces after helping defeat al-Qaeda. About 70,000 of their fighters were given security and government jobs and about 30,000 continued to man security checkpoints in Sunni areas in return for a monthly salary from the government.
The relationship between the councils and the Maliki government deteriorated especially after the US' withdrawal from Iraq as the councils felt neglected. While such neglect began before the US withdrawal, it worsened in the years that followed.
In 2012, their leader, Ahmed Abu Richa, joined anti-government camps in Anbar and made the same demands as the protesters, such as releasing detainees, more Sunni representation in government institutions, and more integration of Sunnis into the political process.
In March 2013, Abu Richa terrorism charges were filed against him.
At the beginning of 2014, Abu Richa switched sides and aligned himself and his followers with government forces in response to an increasing ISIL role in Anbar. Awakening Council members also reportedly fought along with government forces against al-Qaeda during the ongoing confrontations.

Sept. 18, 2014
The Christian Science Monitor

The national guard, as proposed by Iraq's new Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, would enable locals to provide for their own security and be commanded at province level, yet also be integrated into Iraq's national security infrastructure. Sunnis envision an institutionalized version of the Sahwa Awakening - the homegrown Sunni militia that, alongside American troops who paid their wages, suppressed Al Qaeda in Iraq from 2005 to 2010. (...) Unlike the ad hoc Sahwa, the new national guard is meant to be a local army, similar to the Kurdish peshmerga militia, which operates in northern Iraq.

Oct. 19, 2014
The Christian Science Monitor

The United States leaned heavily on Sunni tribes during the "surge" campaign of 2006-2007 in a bid to defeat Al Qaeda. However, Shiite politicians, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, subsequently cut off payments and protection to tribesmen and jailed some of their leaders, setting the stage for the current Sunni insurgency.

At a conference in Amman, Jordan, in July, Washington reached out to religious, tribal, and Baathist factions in a bid to revive old alliances and find a way out of the impasse in Iraq. The outcome was the removal of Mr. Maliki.

Dec. 24, 2014
Al Jazeera – English

The Iraqi government has distributed arms and ammunition to tribesmen, and Haider al-Abadi, prime minister, aims to establish a national guard made up of local fighters, though the necessary law has yet to pass parliament.

Jan. 3, 2016
GlobalSecurity.org

Available: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/awakening.htm

The Awakening Councils are composed of Sunni tribal fighters who oppose al-Qaeda and its presence in Iraq. In 2006, they helped US forces expel al-Qaeda from Sunni provinces, like Anbar, where the councils were established, and from Sunni districts in Baghdad. At that time, the councils were estimated to have about 100,000 fighters who wanted to be integrated into Iraqi forces after helping defeat al-Qaeda. About 70,000 of their fighters were given security and government jobs and about 30,000 continued to man security checkpoints in Sunni areas in return for a monthly salary from the government. (...) The Sahwa [Awakening] started in al-Qaim in the middle of 2005. (...) The second announced Awakening, Abu Risha, happened in September 2006 in the Jazeera area. The Sunni Awakening officially started in September 2006 with the announcement of the Anbar Awakening in Ramadi under the leadership of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. A conference was held at the home of Sheikh Sattar, the first meeting in two years where the tribal leaders were able to gather at Sheikh Sattar’s house and declare openly to the people that they were going to fight al-Qaeda.^at first meeting, they called it the Awakening council, and afterwards even the political party name is the Awakening council. (...)
In 2012 Ahmed Abu Richa joined anti-government camps in Anbar and made the same demands as the protesters, such as releasing detainees, more Sunni representation in government institutions, and more integration of Sunnis into the political process. In March 2013, Abu Richa was arrested on terrorism charges.

At the beginning of 2014, Abu Richa switched sides and aligned himself and his followers with government forces in response to an increasing ISIL role in Anbar. Awakening Council members also reportedly fought along with government forces against al-Qaeda during the ongoing confrontations. In June 2014, in an interview with Al Jazeera, the spokesperson of the General Military Council for Iraqi Revolution, former General Muzhir al-Qaisi described the Awakening Councils as "part of an American Project" signalling distrust towards the group.