- Recent fighting in Anbar province poses serious challenge to Iraqi government
- Al Qaeda-linked militants reportedly fighting alongside tribal leaders in Fallujah
- 2013 was deadliest year in Iraq since 2008
- U.S. and coalition forces suffered some of worst losses during Iraq War in Anbar province
Editor’s note: Charles Lister is a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Doha, Qatar. His work focuses primarily on issues of terrorism and insurgency across the Middle East. Follow him on Twitter: @Charles_Lister. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.
(CNN) — Fallujah and Ramadi may have been sites of heavy bloodshed in recent days, but the Sunni Muslims of Iraq’s Anbar Province, where the two cities are located, have long held a contemptuous attitude towards the embattled government of Prime Minister (and Shia Muslim) Nouri al-Maliki.
Iraqi politics and many aspects of economic and social affairs have come to be dominated by antagonistic relationships between the country’s Sunni and Shia populations. Nowhere is that more evident than in Anbar. For all intents and purposes, Fallujah and Ramadi are now out of the control of the central government and are now ruled under the authority, to differing degrees, of Sunni militiamen, local (tribally-influenced) police, and extremist militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
READ MORE: Maliki demands Fallujah expel “terrorists”
Having already launched a substantial military offensive targeting ISIS in Anbar’s desert terrain on December 23, the Iraqi Army has now shifted much of its attention towards securing the province’s key towns and cities.
Arresting Ahmed al-Alwani, a powerful Sunni MP from Ramadi — and killing his brother Ali — on December 28 enraged the people of Anbar. But the coordinated military operation to shut down the city’s expansive anti-government protest camp two days later was simply one move too far.
Most tribes issued calls to arms and demanded the withdrawal of all federal armed forces from the province. Heavy fighting soon followed, the army withdrew personnel from all cities, and the convoys of heavily armed ISIS militants streamed into Ramadi and Fallujah, where security resistance was quickly subdued.
As things stand today, the army stands poised to launch a major assault on Fallujah, where ISIS militants and local tribesmen are now the predominant force. Meanwhile in Ramadi, Sunni tribesmen — particularly from the Albu Bali and the Al-Ghanim tribes — have taken a more pragmatic approach and cooperated with local security forces in limited operations against ISIS militants.
READ MORE: 5 things to know about Iraq crisis
Iraqi security was in dire straits well before the outbreak of deadly violence in Anbar.
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