Armed groups take control of Baaquba while the government focuses on the Bush-Baghdad scheme

Diyala province is north and a little east of Baghdad, bordering Iran, and in recent months there have been reports of battles for control between Sunni and Shiite militias. Al-Hayat reports today on recent events in Diyala that indicate the security situation there has deteriorated, partly as a result of the government's concentration on the new Baghdad security plan. The story goes like this:

Security sources told Al-Hayat that the Diyala administrative council has fired its Administrator of the city of Baaquba...as a result of armed groups having occupied the Baaquba [city hall] and sequestering him, without there having been any opposition to speak of on the part of the security and police organizations that are supposed to guard the building, not to mention [their other security responsibilities]. And the council also decided on the dismissal of 1500 members of the local police and Iraqi army for neglect of their national duty, and for providing support to the armed groups.

[The sources] said the armed groups still exert control over the city, and the forces of the army and the special forces are facing difficulty in regaining control of Baaquba and Shahraban, adding: The [Maliki] government has refused to send assistance and support because they are too busy with the new Baghdad security plan, or so we are told by our delegate to Prime Minister Maliki...

There are two points here: One is that persons in authority (the Administrator and 1500 army and police) are described as unreliable in the sense that they are standing aside in the face of armed-group control of Baaquba, and this finally became intolerable when the groups actually took over the City Hall. And the other point is that when local officials asked Maliki for assistance in the form of more-reliable security personnel, they were told the government is too busy with the new Baghdad plan.

The reporter then helps us catch up with the recent Diyala news, writing:

The vice-president of the Diyala provincial council, Hassan Bajlan, announced last week the fall of Baaquba into the hands of "armed persons and terrorist groups and Baathist remnants."

Baaquba is considered to be a magnet for extremist groups and armed militias. [The provincial council vice-president] attributed the deterioration in local security to the infiltration of more of those types of groups following the announcement of the new security plan for Baghdad. Intelligence sources told Al-Hayat that the reason for this spread of armed groups [in Baaquba and surrounding areas] is the failure of the administrastion to control the administrative boundaries, with the absence of the role of the multinational forces and the [Iraqi] army in curtailing or stopping the infiltration, in their [the armed forces'] fortified positions and strongholds.

("In their fortified positions" appears to refer to the Iraqi and/or US army staying in their bases instead of getting out and patrolling). But the main point here is that a high local official described Baaquba as having "fallen into the hands" of armed groups; the local council has decided to fire the Baaquba administrator and 1500 security personnel for being neutral and/or supportive of the armed groups; and the Maliki government's reponse to calls for help has been that they are too busy with the new Bush plan for Baghdad.

(This same Al-Hayat piece also quotes Sunni tribal leaders in the area who accuse the government of getting ready to expel groups that oppose Iran, in effect accusing the government of being a tool of Iran).

One interesting thing about the main Baaquba story is that the reporter doesn't identify the armed groups that have taken over the city. This appears to be almost a non-sectarian issue, his point being that even though Baaquba has "fallen", the local authorities haven't been able to elicit any support from the Green-one government, preoccupied as it is with the latest Bush plan.