* Fighting continues in Anbar for third day
* Shi’ite PM Maliki reinforce army in Anbar
* Sunni militants seizing police, local govt buildings
By Kamal Namaa
FALLUJA, Iraq, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Islamist militants stormed
police stations in several cities of Iraq’s western province of
Anbar on Wednesday, seizing weapon caches and freeing prisoners
after security forces dismantled a Sunni Muslim protest camp on
Monday.
The attacks on three police stations in Falluja, Ramadi and
Tarmiya represent a serious escalation in the confrontation
between Iraqi Sunni groups and the Shi’ite-led government of
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Sunni anger at the government’s crushing of a protest
movement has inflamed Iraq’s already deeply rooted sectarian
tensions. The camp dismantled on Monday has been seen as an
irritant to Maliki since it was set up to protest against
perceived Sunni marginalisation a year ago.
“Gunmen in large numbers surrounded the three police
stations in Falluja and forced all policemen to leave without
their weapons if they wanted to spare their lives. All of us
left, we didn’t want to die for nothing,” a policeman stationed
at one of the three stations told Reuters.
The gunmen then took control of a local government building
nearby, deploying snipers on its roof to prevent the security
forces from retaking command of the police stations in Falluja,
50 kilometres west of Baghdad.
Clashes between gunmen and security officials in Ramadi,
another city in Anbar, continued for a third day on Wednesday,
and also involved assaults on police stations by militants
driving vehicles mounted with machine guns.
In a separate attack, at least four policemen were killed
and 12 more wounded when gunmen attacked a police headquarters
in the mainly Sunni town of Tarmiya, north of Baghdad, police
reported.
Dozens of trucks loaded with gunmen were roaming the streets
in Falluja and Anbar, and three police vehicles were set ablaze
near one police station in Ramadi, a police source said.
The prime minister has offered some concessions to Sunni
protesters, including proposed reforms to tough anti-terrorism
laws, but most Sunni leaders say they will not be enough to
appease the demonstrators.
The Shi’ite premier may also seek to consolidate his position
before 2014 parliamentary elections by taking a tough stance
against hardline Sunni Islamists.
More than 8,000 people have been killed in such violence
this year.
Wednesday’s attacks began only hours after a decision by
Anbar’s governor to lift a curfew imposed on Monday after
fighting had erupted in various parts of the province.
Maliki had said the civilian police force could resume
control over Anbar’s security, but that decision was changed
after an appeal by the province’s governor.
“The governor of Anbar Ahmed Khalaf appealed to the Prime
Minister to keep the army in Anbar because al Qaeda fighters
managed to enter on Wednesday and controlled some parts of the
province,” the governor’s office told Reuters.
Violence in Iraq has hit its highest levels since the
sectarian fighting of 2006-7, which killed tens of thousands of
people.
(Reporting by Kamal Namaa; additional reporting and writing by
Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Angus McDowall and Ralph Boulton)
