Security condition in Talafar prevents residents from enjoying Ramadan

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Residents of Talafar grew accustomed to performing special rituals during Ramadan, but the current unstable security condition forced them to stop or limit these rituals. Fear still dominates the city and locals are avoiding gatherings as some armed groups could target them as they intensify their attacks during Ramadan in Talafar. Naif Suleiman, a 48-year-old teacher, said “in Ramadan we used to gather in houses and organize rituals to praise God and to read the Qur’an in the first ten days of the month, but in the last ten days we used to pray all through the night until the dawn, but security conditions prevent us from performing these rituals freely.” “Many of use are afraid that these gatherings could be a target of armed groups as some of this kind of attacks took place in Talafar and some other regions in the past years,” he told Iraqi News. “Iraqi forces should make plans to protect mosques during Ramadan in order to prevent any possible attack by armed groups,” Suleiman said. Iraqi security forces have started a special security plan in Talafar district for the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Police forces were deployed near mosques and markets in Talafar, (60 km) west of Mosul city Hassan Youssef, an employee, told Iraqi News “every night in Ramadan there is special rituals of young and old people in Talafar and they could remain awake until the last meal before the daybreak, but the security condition may not help to stay awake until late hours.” “Despite that there are some meetings in the relatively safe regions to organize cultural contests or to listen to popular stories,” he said. “I do not remember sleeping during Ramadan nights when we were young, we used to gather at one of our friends’ house to spend the night playing and talking until the dawn,” Abduljabar Ahmad, a retired employee, said. “The security conditions today do not help anyone to leave the house, as you will become a target of armed groups or be accused by the government of organizing armed cells,” he explained. Talafar is 60 km northwest of Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, which lies 405 km north of Baghdad. SH (S)/SR 2