Baghdad arms north but snubs Anbar weapons plea

The Iraqi government has refused to send arms to Sunni tribes battling the Islamic State group in Anbar province, but has set aside millions of dollars of weapons for tribes in northern Salaheddin, sources have told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

According to a source, the Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi has allocated $21m to arm the tribes of Salaheddin province, noting that a special committee had been formed to deal with the issue.

"Directors of the local police will be responsible for distributing the weapons to the tribes," he said. The source did not specify which areas, and thus which tribes, would be supplied with arms.

However, a deputy in the Iraqi forces told al-Araby that the government had decided not to arm Sunni tribes in Anbar province, who he said were more in need of weapons than any other part of the country.

Poorly defended villages in Anbar have been overrun by the IS group, leading to the execution of hundreds of the tribesmen. Pleas for arms from Baghdad have gone unheard.

The deputy, speaking on the condition of anonymity, accused the government of dealing with Iraq in a sectarian manner.

He accused the government of being especially keen to protect Shia shrines from the IS militants, and ignoring the security of other parts of the country.

"The proof of this is the arming of the Salaheddin province, because that province has religious shrines sacred to the Shia," he said.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.