Iraq's Sunnis Fear Shiite Militias
Sunni Muslim civilians are increasingly claiming that men in their families have been abducted and in many cases, tortured and killed, by men they say appeared to be officers of the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
According to The New York Times, one of Baghdad's largest mosques has begun collecting data on disappeared Sunnis and so far has the names of 700 men allegedly missing or killed in such incidents within the past four months. The Iraqi Interior Ministry says reports of government involvement are "totally wrong."
"There is no question that bodies are turning up," one human rights investigator told The Times, speaking anonymously, citing safety concerns. "Quite a few have been handcuffed and shot in the back of the head."
There's mounting evidence that as mostly Shiite Iraqi security forces assume a larger role in combating insurgents, they're killing Sunni Muslims, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
"These militias just about rule the night in Baghdad - and the Americans can't stop them, because they can't tell who they are," reports Dozier. "The nighttime death squads usually wear Iraqi uniforms, from their daytime jobs as Iraqi policemen or commandos. As U.S. one commander told us, 'in some neighborhoods, we'd have to arrest more than half the police force.'"
In other developments:
The tension between the Sunnis - many of whom have been involved in the insurgency - and the Shiites is not new.
It was reignited by the ouster of Saddam Hussein, whose government favored Sunnis, the installation of the new government, which is dominated by Shiites, and the national elections, coming up on Dec. 15.
The Shiite militias are becoming the undisputed power behind the throne in Baghdad, reports Dozier. Western diplomats widely acknowledge they are part of the government security services.
"Sunnis we spoke to are terrified," Dozier says. "There are so many unmarked convoys full of masked men with guns driving around Baghdad, anyway, that it's hard to tell if they are coming for you, or just passing through, until it's too late."
"One top American officer told us, as bad as it is now, wait until U.S. troops are gone. Then it'll be open season on Sunnis, and, he believes, open civil war," Dozier reports.
Such a civil war is what will happen if the U.S. withdraws without leaving behind properly-trained Iraqi armed forces, says CBS News Military Analyst Mitch Mitchell.
"If they don't have a military that can guarantee the security of the country, then they will not survive. They'll descend into anarchy, chaos will follow and probably a huge civil war," Mitchell said on CBS News' The Early Show Tuesday.
It will be a slow process, says Mitchell, a retired U.S. Army colonel.
"The Iraqis themselves have been under a cruel and repressive regime under Saddam Hussein for so many years, that all they can do is take orders," he told co-anchor Harry Smith. "Now they have to become something different in the military. They have to become leaders. The officers and non-commissioned officers have to show initiative. They have to be able to make decisions for themselves and they're not used to that."
Germany's ARD television said the pictures of Susanne Osthoff were taken from a video in which her captors demanded that Germany stop any dealings with Iraq's government. Germany has ruled out sending troops to Iraq and opposed the U.S.-led war.
Osthoff's mother told Germany N24 news station that her daughter is an archaeologist working for a German aid organization distributing medicine and medical supplies since before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. ARD reported that the woman speaks fluent Arabic.
Monday, Saddam was back in court for the next leg of his trial on charges of crimes against humanity. Apparently attempting to take control of the courtroom, Saddam angrily complained to the judge about being shackled and mistreated by "occupiers and invaders."
After a short session during which the first testimony was read into the record, Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the trial until Dec. 5 to allow time to find replacements for two defense lawyers who were slain and another who fled the country after he was wounded.
Saddam and seven co-defendants are charged in the murder of more than 140 Shiite Muslim men and boys after an assassination attempt against the former president in the Shiite town of Dujail in 1982, reports
. Convictions could bring a sentence of death by hanging. The former Iraqi president has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, torture, forced expulsions and illegal detention.