by RAY FLEMING
ACCORDING to the Status of Forces Agreement signed by Iraq and the United States last November all US forces will leave Iraqi cities by the end of this month and urban security will become the exclusive responsibility of the Iraq authorities. Following the success of the US surge last year the number of shootings and bombings in Baghdad and Mosul dropped considerably but by April this year the death toll of civilians had risen to 370 and the figure for May is expected to be worse. One factor has been the return to violence of the so-called Sons of Iraq - some 100'000 Sunnis paid by the United States to support the surge but no longer in US employment. The police forces in the Baghdad and Mosul are at far from full strength and the Iraqi army lacks essential equipment.
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03/06/2009 00:00
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