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U.S. Instructors Train Iraqi Prison Guards Before Detainee Handover


U.S. soldiers stand guard as freed Iraqi prisoners leave Abu Ghraib prison
U.S. soldiers stand guard as freed Iraqi prisoners leave Abu Ghraib prison
BAGHDAD -- American instructors are training Iraqis to be prison guards so that they are prepared for the handover of thousands of detainees from the U.S. military to the Iraqi government, the U.S. military has said.

General Robert Kenyon, in charge of the Cropper Detention Center near the Baghdad airport, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq that Iraqi correction officers are being trained to become a more professional force.

Kenyon added that Iraqi prison guards and officers have been receiving training on human rights standards, and that now "we are beginning training on logistics, administration, and operations."

Relatives of some Iraqi detainees told RFI that they would rather see their loved ones remain in U.S. custody.

Under the security pact signed between Iraq and the United States in 2008, all Iraqis held in detention by U.S. forces will be handed over to Iraqi authorities.
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