Iraqi PM To Pull Army Out Of Ramadi After Protest Camp Cleared

  • By RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq

A protester stands next to the wreckage of an Iraqi police vehicle in Ramadi on December 30.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said the military will leave cities in Anbar Province where deadly clashes took place after a Sunni antigovernment protest camp was dismantled.

In a statement, Maliki said the army will instead fight Al-Qaeda "in the desert of Anbar."

Maliki also called on the dozens of Sunni parliament and government members who threatened to resign not to quit their posts.

Fighting that began in Ramadi on December 30 led to at least 14 deaths after security forces took down tents.

RFE/RL's correspondent in Ramadi said army operations against "tribal rebels" took place in the Al-Sufiya area and in three Ramadi neighborhoods.

He reported that water supplies in Ramadi were cut after the director of a water-distribution center was shot dead.

With reporting by AFP and AP