Anbar tribes condition talks with Baghdad on Sunni MP's release

BAGHDAD

Sunni tribes in Iraq's troubled Anbar province have set the release of Sunni lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani as a precondition for entering talks with the government, a local tribal chieftain told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.    

The predominantly-Sunni Anbar province has recently been the scene of mounting violence between army troops and armed Sunni tribesman.

On Sunday, clashes erupted in the province after government troops moved in to evict a months-old sit-in in the city of Ramadi staged by tribesmen opposed to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Protesters had accused al-Malikis' Shiite-dominated government of anti-Sunni discrimination and had called for its dismissal.

Al-Alwani, a prominent anti-Maliki protest organizer, was arrested on Saturday when Iraqi forces raided his Ramadi home. Six people were killed in the raid, including al-Alwani's brother.

Sheikh Majid al-Guraisi, chief of the Al-Guraisat tribe, told AA that Iraqi tribes had plans to form a "military council" tasked with protecting state facilities in the province amid the mounting violence.

The proposed council, he said, would work to protect the cities of Anbar from looters and vandals.

englishnews@aa.com.tr