Wassit prepares for security handover

WASSIT / IraqiNews.com: Wassit governor and other officials announced that security forces are ready to receive the province’s security duties from the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq on Wednesday, while the Wassit provincial council expressed reservations regarding an agreement in this regard, especially about U.S. forces having the right to conduct military operations in the province. Lateef al-Tarfa, Wassit’s governor and head of its security committee, told IraqiNews.com, “The province embarked on intensive security measures before receiving security responsibilities from the MNF on October 29th 2008.” “An operation room was set up to coordinate between the police, the army and other security agencies, in addition to a plan to secure the process,” he said. “Security forces in the province are ready,” he added. But, Mohammed Hassan Jabir, head of the Wassit provincial council, announced in a press conference that the council has reservations regarding a number of security concerns, threatening not to ink the agreement if they would not be amended. “One of the items states that MNF has the right to protect its personnel and to conduct any military action that they find necessary to preserve security,” he said, explaining that the council “demanded to add that this should occur through a request or after the governor’s approval”. “The U.S. side claimed that they have no time, as any amendments require approval of their top command,” he added. “If the U.S. side would insist on this position, the Wassit provincial council will unanimously refuse to sign the agreement,” he asserted. For their parts, Gen. Abdulhaneen Hmod, the Wassit police chief, and Brig. Abid Madhlom, the commander of the Iraqi army 8th Division’s 32nd Brigade, concurred that their forces are ready to control the province, including the border line with Iran. Meanwhile, Sayyid Sattar al-Batat, the Imam of al-Kut Mosque, said that he was happy over the transfer of the security responsibilities from the MNF to the Iraqi forces. “I call on all the province’s residents to support the Iraqi security forces and the local authorities to receive the security duty from the MNF so that the MNF may leave the province for good,” he said. Wassit, with its capital city al-Kut that lies 180 km southeast of Baghdad, will be Iraq’s 13th province to be protected by national forces, after receiving security responsibilities from the MNF. MH (S)/AmR 1