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Police Flee As Saddam Loyalists Fuel City Revolt
Independent (UK) ^ | 10-6-2003 | Patrick Cockburn

Posted on 10/05/2003 3:42:01 PM PDT by blam

Police flee as Saddam loyalists fuel city revolt

By Patrick Cockburn in Baiji
06 October 2003

Iraqis shouting pro-Saddam Hussein slogans have staged an uprising in the important oil refining city of Baiji, burning down the mayor's office, fighting with American troops and forcing local police to flee.

About a thousand people, some holding pictures of Saddam Hussein, were in a stand-off with American troops last night, with tanks surrounding the police station in the city, 160 miles north of Baghdad.

Loyalty to the ousted president, who is still being sought by Allied troops, is strong in the Sunni Muslim heartland.

The crowds were chanting: "With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.''

"We were in a big firefight this morning but now we're back in control,'' claimed a US soldier manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city. But, despite the presence of American forces, pro-Saddam townspeople appeared to be in command of most streets in Baiji.

The uprising, which started early on Saturday morning, underlines the fragile grip on power held by the occupying US troops, and the local police they have appointed, even in an important centre such as Baiji.

The city lies on the main road between Baghdad and the northern capital city of Mosul. Baiji contains the largest oil refinery in Iraq and is on a main oil pipeline. The uprising was largely spontaneous but was fuelled by hostility to the American occupation and by rumours that Iraqi oil was being smuggled to Israel via Turkey.

According to Majid, a local man who was in the city centre at the time five or six men arrived in a Brazilian-made car and began chanting pro-Saddam slogans.

He said: "A crowd gathered in the market place. Then the police attacked them and [other] people ... and were also shooting. Four people were hit and were lying on the ground.''

Enraged by the shooting, many citizens joined the crowd in attacking the police. The town's police chief, General Ismail Abdullah Jassim, was in any case extremely unpopular according to Rafid, a truck driver who, like many people in Baiji, refused to give his family name for fear of retribution.

He said: "The police chief took all the cars belonging to the government for himself. He became like a president here in Baiji.'' A large crowd then advanced on the office of the mayor of Baiji, Hamid Rajabayef al-Qaissi.

He tried to stop them by saying that the police had overreacted but the crowd refused to accept this and burnt his office.

The fire was put out but scorch marks showed where the flames had consumed the building.

The people of Baiji, 30 miles north of Saddam's home town of Tikrit, are Sunni Muslims. Many of the inhabitants worked in the security forces and administration of the old regime and lost their jobs after the occupation, a predicament that has led to many protests.

After the burning of the mayor's office, most of the police fled, according to local people. American officers at the US base just north of Baiji demanded that the police returned to their posts. They replied that they would be killed if they did.

The Americans threatened to sack the officers, who mostly come from villages outside the city, unless they went back.

The police said they had no bulletproof vests or radios, but later a few patrols did return to Baiji. Local people attacked Turkish trucks passing through the town, leaving two vehicles burnt out.

Turkish truck drivers are a target for local hatred in Baiji because it is believed that they buy fuel cheaply, causing local shortages, and then smuggle it into Turkey to sell at higher prices.

The crowds were particularly enraged, according to one report, by a rumour that the oil being taken by the Turkish truck drivers was to be sold in Israel. But there is no doubt that people in Baiji are more willing to express their support for Saddam Hussein than demonstrators in Ramadi and Fallujah, the Euphrates river towns where there have been repeated attacks on American troops.

The atmosphere in Baiji yesterday evening was still very tense. Iraqi truck drivers said they were frightened of driving through in case they were mistakenly identified as Turkish. "No one is in control. It is anarchy there,'' said one man on the outskirts of the city.

The number of dead and injured is unclear. At one point on the road there was an orange truck which was hit by a rocket, killing the driver, local people said.

A medic at the local hospital, Dr Assaf, said 11 people had been brought in with bullet wounds on Saturday, but he did not know how many casualties were treated yesterday.

"The most seriously injured have all been moved to the main hospital in Tikrit,'' the doctor said.

Last night American troops appeared keen not to provoke further trouble. Although crowds, many holding stones, were still surrounding the main police station.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alqaissi; baiji; city; flee; iraq; iraqioil; iraqipolice; jassim; oil; pipeline; police; revolt; saddamloyalists; sunnimuslim; turkey

1 posted on 10/05/2003 3:42:01 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam
The crowds were chanting: "With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.''

Sounds like they are well prepared for their role.

2 posted on 10/05/2003 3:44:05 PM PDT by InterceptPoint
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3 posted on 10/05/2003 3:45:14 PM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: InterceptPoint
They want trouble? Give them some!
4 posted on 10/05/2003 3:45:18 PM PDT by sheik yerbouty
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To: InterceptPoint
We have our own liberal press to thank for this.
5 posted on 10/05/2003 3:45:29 PM PDT by max_rpf
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To: InterceptPoint
"With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.''

The sooner the better!

6 posted on 10/05/2003 3:45:37 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative (Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
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To: InterceptPoint
Can someone tell me why we continue to allow these troublemakers a safe haven in the Sunni Triangle.

Clean the place out..

7 posted on 10/05/2003 3:46:43 PM PDT by Dog
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To: blam
"With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.''

I'm sure we'll be more than glad to accomodate them.

8 posted on 10/05/2003 3:47:16 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Dog
Time to "cleeen howwwse" and not only in Sacramento

Prairie
9 posted on 10/05/2003 3:52:29 PM PDT by prairiebreeze (How will Grey Davis eat and pay the bills when he's no longer at the public trough? Who cares?)
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To: blam
"According to Majid, a local man who was in the city centre
at the time, five or six men arrived in a Brazilian-made car
and began chanting pro-Saddam slogans. "

In that case, it should have read..

"five or six men arrived in a Brazilian-made car, that turned into their coffin"


All these Muslim dirtbags know is violence...so lets show them violence....

10 posted on 10/05/2003 3:52:49 PM PDT by ThreePuttinDude ( ....So the Cubs have to win it in Atlanta....that's OK.....)
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To: blam
I guess I've been around here for about 6 years or so now. Time sure flies!

When Jim Robinson started this site, it was because he was fed up with the liberal media, and how they would not let people worldwide know about the corruption of the Clinton Administration. A few of us, equally concerned, (with great luck) found it fast.

In the early days, FR was a day-to-day operation, always on the brink of bankruptcy. Jim kept on, and we chipped in when it became too much. We knew how important this site was, and is. Sometimes, it came down to the wire, and we wrote checks, and sent them in, as best we could.

Look at it now. We all get our best information from this site. It is huge, with thousands of posters, and millions of readers. Yet Jim still keeps it alive because of his conviction, and he is absolutely NOT making a profit on it. He just believes. As do we.

BTW, did you know that the founder of this site is in a wheelchair (sorry Jim; I know you think it doesn't make a r*ts a$$ difference. Hey, some folks out there need to come down a peg, like I have.).

Think of it! In the darkest days of the Clinton Administration, there was a lone internet site where people with integrity, brains, and sheer gumption could discuss the dangers faced by the US. Not on CNN, for sure.

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11 posted on 10/05/2003 4:06:27 PM PDT by MonroeDNA (Please become a monthly donor!!! Just $3 a month--you won't miss it, and will feel proud!)
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To: InterceptPoint
The crowds were chanting: "With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.'' Sounds like they are well prepared for their role.

We're there to please, right? Lock and load.

12 posted on 10/05/2003 4:08:06 PM PDT by geedee (Suppose you were a traitorous, lying jackass and suppose you were a liberal. Oops I repeat myself.)
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To: blam
The crowds were chanting: "With our blood, with our spirit, we are ready to die for you Saddam.''

I seriously ask why they were not accomodated?

One MOAB would do it.
Next.

13 posted on 10/05/2003 4:10:49 PM PDT by Publius6961 (californians are as dumb as a sack of rocks.)
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To: MonroeDNA
BUMP!

Prairie
14 posted on 10/05/2003 4:30:24 PM PDT by prairiebreeze (I'm a monthly donor to FR. And proud of it!)
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To: blam
This sounds fishy.

The building was *consumed*, but after it was put out, the scorch marks could be seen.

It was huge and fierce and I haven't seen anything at all on FNC, which I have had on all day.

It was started by rumors, the targets were the police chief and the fears were of Turkish oil truck drivers getting oil cheaply and selling it to Israel, yet the Americans were being cautious, afterwards. Oh, and don't forget the police had no equipment. But it sounds as though it was put down.

Riots of this sort, BTW, are the perfect reason not to give over control to the Iraqis just yet.

The Independant is rabidly Leftist. Something probably actually happened, but I'll wait for a more balanced report.
15 posted on 10/05/2003 4:42:03 PM PDT by reformedliberal
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To: InterceptPoint
Time to PACIFY the ENTIRE town. Quickly end these fanatic diehards' dreams of Saddam Redux.
16 posted on 10/05/2003 4:46:07 PM PDT by PISANO
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To: blam
OK, looks like it's time to round all these people up and move them into an area in the driest desert of Iraq. They should be kept there, under Iraqi guard, until they learn how to behave. They should be broken up into 10 small groups to make things easier. Those who decide to behave properly can be granted a work permit and be allowed to relocate into another part of Iraq. If they prove they can be trusted, they can stay out, if they can't be trusted they should be turned over to the Iraqi justice system for disposal.
17 posted on 10/05/2003 4:49:19 PM PDT by McGavin999
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To: McGavin999
BTW the "camps" should be located right next to the mass graves. The work should include excavating, identifying, and notifying the relatives of those who are IN those mass graves.
18 posted on 10/05/2003 4:51:07 PM PDT by McGavin999
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