Iraqi government dismisses police 'deserters'

The Iraqi Interior Minister has dismissed 1,200 policemen in the Anbar province in the west of the country, claiming that they “deserted their posts” during clashes with armed tribesmen in the district.

Anbar’s Deputy Governor Falih Al-Issawi said that the decision was taken when the officers failed to report for duty in January. There were serious clashes with militants affiliated with the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” at the time.

The predominantly Sunni Anbar province has witnessed violent clashes between the army and rebels for months now. The rebels are armed and members of the local clans who have been fighting against the Iraqi army to prevent its forces from entering the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in the governorate.

According to Al-Issawi, nearly six thousand former army officers appointed by the US military during its time in control of the country, as well as local tribesmen, are fighting alongside the army and police in Anbar. “Some of them were killed during the operations,” he added. Iraq’s Interior Ministry is still reluctant about appointing them formally in the government ranks, even though Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has approved the appointment of nearly 10,000 additional fighters.

Iraq’s Defence Ministry said in February that the army will halt its operations in Anbar province and the cities of Ramadi, Saqlawiyah, Khalidiya, AlbuBali and Share’ el Malaab.