VZCZCXRO1726
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMOS #0051/01 1401617
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 201617Z MAY 06
FM REO MOSUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0483
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0073
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0056
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0060
RUEHMOS/REO MOSUL 0502

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/20/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR
SUBJECT: NINEWA: PROVINCIAL CHIEF OF POLICE CONFIRMS SECTARIAN STRIFE 
IN TAL AFAR 
 
MOSUL 00000051  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Jerome P. Hohman, IPAO, Provincial Reconstruction 
Team Ninewa, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (S) Provincial Chief of Police Wathiq al-Qudir confirms 
recent violence in the western Ninewa city of Tal Afar is due to 
sectarian strife.  President Bush mentioned Tal Afar in a speech 
this year as a beacon of hope after successful counterinsurgency 
efforts last September helped bring stability to the area. 
Al-Qudir claims Shia police officers, presumably taking orders 
from the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad, are behind the attacks 
on Sunnis.  Incidents range from bogus arrests and detentions, 
to outright physical aggression.  Al-Qudir says Shia and Sunni 
violence and intimidation in Tal Afar is forcing Sunni families 
to seek safety with friends and relatives in Mosul, and 
estimates the number of those fleeing might be more than 2,000. 
Security forces in the area believe the latest violence is in 
retaliation for Sunni attacks on Shia markets on April 21 and 
May 9.  End Summary. 
 
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SECTARIAN STRIFE IN TAL AFAR CAUSING SUNNIS TO FLEE 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  (S) Provincial Chief of Police (PCOP) Wathiq al-Qudir 
confirmed recent violence in the western city of Tal Afar was 
caused by sectarian strife.  Al-Qudir told PRT Deputy Team 
Leader and PolOff on May 20 that recent attacks against Sunnis 
were caused by Shia-dominated police officers presumably taking 
orders from the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad.  He also 
accused Shia police of fabricating evidence to arrest and detain 
Sunnis.  Many Shia officers had been intimidating and, in 
certain cases, physically harming their Sunni victims, he said. 
Al-Qudir said Shia and Sunni violence and intimidation in the 
area was forcing thousands of Sunni families to flee to safety 
in Mosul.  Al-Qudir estimated there were more than 2,000 Sunni 
families that had left Tal Afar over the past few weeks, but 
that the number was not yet confirmed.  He said he would compile 
the exact number of displaced persons in a formal report to be 
submitted to the central government by the end of May.  He said 
those leaving Tal Afar were not living in camps, but rather 
staying with family and friends in Mosul.  During a recent 
public television broadcast earlier in the week al-Qudir asked 
all fleeing families to register with his office. 
 
¶3.  (S) Al-Qudir's comments confirmed lingering suspicions from 
several sources that incidents of violence in Tal Afar were 
sparked by a suicide attack at a predominantly Shia market on 
April 21, and a suicide vehicle bombing at another Shia market 
on May 9.  According to security forces operating in the area, 
an Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQIZ) memorandum recently captured outlined 
a strategy to create a sectarian civil war in the city.  This 
memorandum, they believed, might have incited the attacks on the 
markets.  The sources claimed these events might have led to 
retaliatory attacks by Shia police on a Sunni hospital, as well 
as recent incidents of intimidation and aggression.  On May 11 
Ninewa Provincial Council Chair Salem Haj Issa told PRT DTL that 
during a visit to Tal Afar a few days before he received word 
from city councilmembers that Shia police officers had been 
harassing Sunnis.  And members of the Iraqi Islamic Party told 
PRT officials on May 18 that conflict between Sunnis and Shia 
was impacting security in the area.  They called on Iraqi 
Security Forces and Coalition Forces to help control the 
problem. 
 
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SEEKING HELP FROM FRIENDS 
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¶4.  (S) Chief of Police al-Qudir and Iraqi Army (IA) 2nd 
Division General Jamaal said they were working with IA 3rd 
Division General Khorsheed (whose area of operation was in 
western Ninewa) to resolve the situation.  Al-Qudir said the 
problem ultimately rested with his office, but he was relying on 
his security forces colleagues for assistance.  Al-Qudir and 
Jamaal admitted they had gone public many times over the past 
few months claiming there was no sectarian violence in Ninewa, 
especially Tal Afar, but said they did so to pacify the public. 
However, both men claimed remorse for the misleading statements, 
and that the time had come to "speak the truth." 
 
MOSUL 00000051  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶5.  (C) Al-Qudir's words match recent statements from several 
sources that ethnic tensions in Tal Afar are heating up.  While 
there are friction points between Shia and Sunni in the city, 
PRT contacts believe the recent violence is caused by outside 
actors attempting to take advantage of an already tenuous 
situation in Tal Afar.  Groups such as AQIZ appear to be 
exploiting historical tensions between Sunnis and Shia to 
destroy any goodwill that resulted after successful 
counterinsurgency efforts by Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security 
Forces there last fall.  Al-Qudir believes problems in the area 
might also be caused by events in Baghdad and the lack of a 
central government. 
GRANT