White-collar Iraqis targeted by assassins/ Asia Times

[TexasLawyer]

Middle East
Mar 3, 2006

White-collar Iraqis targeted by assassins
By Brian Conley and Isam Rashid

BAGHDAD - White-collar professionals such as doctors and academics are being targeted in the violence sweeping Iraq. <snip> "They know very well what they are doing ... Their purpose is to destroy Iraq from the inside."

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Since the US-led occupation began in 2003, Iraqi professionals have been regularly killed, sometimes on a daily basis.

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The accusation that the Ministry of Interior is involved in these assassinations is in line with findings by the US military. Twenty-two men were arrested recently for running a death squad in Baghdad. They have repeatedly claimed that their actions were carried out under the orders of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr. The Association of Muslim Scholars says only about 2,000 Iraqi doctors are still working in the country, and that more than 300 professionals have been assassinated since the occupation began.

Rawi and other officials from the association are calling for civil-disobedience actions to draw attention to the issue. "We don't have enough power to stop these crimes because we don't have the guns of the military forces, but we try to pressure the government and US troops to stop it. We must be careful, and work very hard to stop by demonstrations, sit-ins, and civil disobedience."

Disobedience actions have begun already in an effort to force the government to take these concerns seriously. Doctors in Mosul joined a large demonstration on February 14 to demand security. They warned of civil disobedience throughout the city.

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC03Ak01.html