BAGHDAD
Several tribal chieftains from Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday voiced skepticism over recent promises by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end an ongoing standoff in the province.
"Al-Maliki is a man who doesn't keep his promises," chieftain Rafie al-Jumaili told Anadolu Agency. "This is a man who has served this country in no way since he came to power."
On Tuesday, al-Maliki ordered army troops to withdraw from Anbar's cities and leave local security to local police forces.
Anbar has been shaken by violence since Monday, when Iraqi police and army personnel dismantled a sit-in staged by anti-government Sunni Muslims.
The sit-in dispersal prompted 44 lawmakers to resign from parliament in protest.
The Iraqi army also launched a massive offensive in western Iraq following the death last week of 16 army officers during a raid on a suspected Al-Qaeda camp in Anbar.
Now, however, local tribal chieftains say they don't trust al-Maliki's intentions, alleging that the Iraqi premier sought to embroil the army in a bloody sectarian war.
"Iraq is a country of tribes; most army soldiers hail from local tribes," said Meguid al-Griesi, another Anbar tribal chieftain.
"This means soldiers won't obey orders to kill people," he told AA.
Like-minded chieftains say they, too, don't believe the Iraqi premier's promises to consider their grievances.
They question why al-Maliki had ignored their grievances for an entire year, since province residents, most of them Sunni Muslims, had launched their sit-in.
"Thousands of people joined the sit-in, but al-Maliki never cared," al-Jumaili said. "That's why we will continue to struggle against oppression."
A police officer was gunned down in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday when armed tribesmen attacked a local police station, a security source said.
According to the source, armed tribesmen freed all the prisoners held at a Fallujah police station before killing the officer and setting the entire building alight.
The predominantly-Sunni Anbar province has recently been the scene of mounting violence between army troops and armed Sunni tribesman.
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