Ninewa tribes reject extension of U.S. forces presence in Iraq

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The tribes of northern Iraq’s Ninewa Province have organized a commemoration occasion on the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, taking place nowadays, rejecting the extension of the U.S. troops presence in the country after the end of the current year, and the release of all prisoners.   “Ninewa tribes organized a meeting on Wednesday in Mosul, the center of Ninewa Province, on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the American occupation of Iraq, calling on non-extension of the presence of the U.S. troops in the country, after the end of the period, agreed upon between Baghdad and Washington, according to the Security Agreement signed between them, confirming the withdrawal of those troops by the end of this year,” Sheikh Khalil al-Sabaawi told IraqiNews.com news agency.   Sabaawi, speaking on behalf of the said tribes, called on Iraq’s central government and Ninewa’s local administration to “release all detainees, who were not sentenced and have spent several years in Iraqi prisons, without trial”.   Noteworthy is that the U.S. combat troops had left Iraq at the end of last August, whilst the remaining 50,000 American troops are scheduled to leave the country by the end of this year, according to the said Security Agreement, signed by both countries at the end of 2008.   Mosul, the center of Ninewa Province, is 405 km to the north of Baghdad.   SKH (ITI/SR 1091