Al Fatla tribe condemns raid on notable’s house

DIWANIYA / IraqiNews.com: Al Fatla tribe on Monday condemned a raid by emergency police forces on the house and guesthouse of its chieftain’s brother, describing the operation as an attempt to stir sedition. “A police force driving six vehicles raided the guesthouse of my brother, Salah Abdelmahdi, in al-Mahnawiya district (25 km northwest of Diwaniya city),” the lead of Al Fatla tribe, Sheikh Nabil Abdelmahdi Sakban, told IraqiNews.com. “The raid was conducted without a judicial warrant,” Sheikh Nabil said, adding that it aimed at “sowing the seeds of sedition between the tribe and the state.” The tribe had announced its support for the central and local governments, he added. “The operation appeared to be an attempt to arrest Osama Bin Laden, not a raid on a tribal notable’s house,” he noted. Tribesmen and residents from neighboring tribes, including al-Khazail, al-Jubour, al-Bideer and al-Kurt have expressed their condemnation of the incident, the sheikh explained. Meanwhile, the head of the security committee in the provincial council, Sheikh Hussein al-Badiri, said that the raid was carried out in accordance with a judicial warrant, adding that Salah Abdelmahdi is suspected of being involved in a criminal offence. Diwaniya, a Shiite province, lies 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. In 2002, the population of Diwaniya was estimated at 420,000. The area around the province, which is well irrigated from the nearby Euphrates River, is often considered to be one of the most fertile parts of Iraq, and is heavily cultivated. The town is located on the main rail transport corridor between Baghdad and Basra. For birdwatchers, Diwaniya is a city with a rich bird list, as it has a wide range of biodiversity. SS (S) 2