Iraqis fear renewed violence as US disengages

US president Barack Obama says Washington will fulfill its pledge to halt combat operations in Iraq by the end of this month, but many Iraqis fear that US disengagement could portend surge in violence.

Violence has plunged since the peak of the conflict in 2006-07, but bombings and other attacks occur still daily and Iraqi officials say the civilian death toll rose last month.

Squabbling politicians have been unable to agree on a coalition government since an inconclusive March 7 parliamentary election, raising tensions and opening the way for insurgents. 

"The US withdrawal will pave the way for the militias and armed groups to work freely, and they will activate their operations again," said Samer Ahmed, 32, a Baghdad labourer whose brother was killed by militants at the height of Iraq''s sectarian warfare in 2007.   

"I believe Iraq's security situation will deteriorate severely. A civil war is coming to devour everything in Iraq." 

In a speech to American veterans on Monday, Obama said he was making good on a promise to end US combat in Iraq by Aug. 31, despite a potentially dangerous political impasse that has raised fears of a renewed insurgency.                                           

The withdrawal will leave security in the hands of Iraq's own US-trained army and police, but many say they wonder if the security forces are ready to protect a country at war since the 2003 U.S-led invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.  

"Iraqi security forces are still unable to maintain the security in Iraq," said Baqer Sadeq, a 21-year-old university student. "The US withdrawal from Iraq will pave the way for the violence and sectarian fighting to return.                                                                                   

Shield from foreign influence

Mohammed Saadon, 43, a government employee in Baghdad, said Obama needs to fulfil a promise to leave behind a stable Iraq.    

"It is a US duty to make Iraq a stable country," he said.   

"The US withdrawal from Iraq will have a negative impact, worse than the decision to disband the Iraqi army in 2003," he said, referring to a policy that many Iraqis blame for clearing the path to the violence that followed the US invasion.                                           

"It will leave Iraq facing a security vacuum and will open the way for militias and foreign interference," he said. "The US military presence in Iraq was like a shield in the face of all interference and terrorist acts."                                           

Iraqi authorities say the civilian death toll from bombings and other attacks nearly doubled in July to 396 from 204 in June, while another 89 Iraqi police officers and 50 soldiers were killed. US military commanders in Baghdad dispute the figures, saying only 161 civilians were killed.

On Tuesday morning militants attacked a security checkpoint in the capital and killed five police officers, one of a series of recent raids against security forces. The militants raised the flag of al-Qaeda's affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, over the checkpoint.

The United States plans to reduce troop strength by Sept. 1 to 50,000 from just under 65,000 currently and nearly 150,000 during the peak of the conflict. Those remaining, at least officially, will train and support Iraq's army and police.                                           

US commanders say little will change at the end of the month. American forces have been patrolling in a support role with their Iraqi counterparts for months, and the remaining force of 50,000 will be enough to counter any unexpected surge of violence, they say.