Iraq Shi'ite leader wants US-backed (Sunni militia) units curbed

Source: reuters

BAGHDAD, Dec 21 (Reuters) - A powerful Shi'ite Muslim leader in Iraq called on Friday for U.S.-backed, mainly Sunni neighbourhood patrols to be brought under tight government control with a more balanced sectarian makeup.

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the biggest party in the Shi'ite-led government, said the patrols known to Iraqis as "Awakening Councils" had helped reduce violence but should only play an auxiliary role.

His remarks highlight the uneasiness of Iraqi Shi'ite leaders over the prospect of organised Sunni armed groups that could turn against them when U.S. forces withdraw.

"It is necessary that these Awakenings should be an arm of the government in chasing criminals and terrorists but not a substitute for it," he told hundreds of Shi'ites at his Baghdad compound in a speech marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast.

"Weapons should only be in the hands of the government," he said. He added that the makeup of the units should be more balanced in religiously mixed regions and that they should only operate in areas where violence remained high.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L218447.htm

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I am shocked I tell ya :sarcasm:

But in another year, it will be a Democrat's problem.