Baghdad: Almost all Shi`ite paramilitaries had left
Tikrit on Saturday after locals complained that
some fighters had spent several days looting the
Sunni city after helping retake it from Islamic
State.
"Most of the (paramilitaries) were removed from
the city," said Ahmed al-Kraim, the head of the
council of Tikrit and its province Salahuddin.
The rampage of theft and burning began on
Wednesday, within hours of the Iraqi government
declaring that security forces and Shi`ite
paramilitaries had recaptured the city from
Islamic State (IS) after a month-long battle. IS
had held Tikrit since last June.
Local officials said the mayhem left hundreds of
homes and shops looted or torched. The violence
had threatened to cast a pall over the government
victory in the city, home of the late dictator
Saddam Hussein.
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, a Shi`ite Islamist,
met officials from Salahuddin province and took
the decision that the paramilitaries had to leave
Tikrit.
Kraim called the talks with Abadi "very positive".
The Sunni politician said that the looting and
burning had stopped on Saturday after "the
federal and local police along with (counter-
terrorism) troops became responsible for Tikrit`s
security."
A spokesman for the Shi`ite paramilitary fighters,
Karim al-Noori, confirmed that 80 percent of the
Shi`ite volunteer fighters had left Tikrit.
"The situation now is calm," said a police major in
Tikrit, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some eyewitnesses and government officials also
blamed local Sunnis for the looting.
Abadi, a moderate Shi`ite Islamist, has insisted
that he will not tolerate rights abuses by any
group in the war against IS, which has massacred
thousands of Iraqi Shi`ites and members of other
groups.
Iraqi troops, working in tandem with Shi`ite
militias, secured Tikrit on Wednesday, but as the
government declared victories, paramilitary
fighters started ransacking buildings, according to
local officials and witnesses.
On Friday, Abadi had ordered security forces to
arrest anyone breaking the law and then
convened his meeting on Saturday with
Salahuddin`s governor and key officials.
"It sent a clear message to everyone. Although it
is very challenging, the prime minister is on the
top of situation," said Rafid Jaboori, Abadi`s
spokesman.
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