Militants raiding Baghdad homes

Some families in Baghdad have asked the Iraqi government to do more to protect their homes as raids by militants in local neighborhoods become more common, and defensive neighborhood checkpoints are themselves targeted. According to Baghdad residents, the parts of the city most seriously affected by raids include Yarmouk, Baghdad Ijjedida, Alawi, Harthiyah, Amiriyah and Bab al-Muadham. Outside Baghdad, the most affected areas are Babil, Diyalah, Salahdine and Kirkuk. "The security situation outside our homes is critical and now even inside our homes we cannot feel safe any more," said Sheikh Muhammad Rawi, a community leader in Yarmouk District, near the Green Zone, and also a member of a local residents' association in the capital. "I have been receiving dozens of complaints weekly from local families about the raids being carried out by militias... In some raids, men are arrested and women beaten up when they try to help their husbands," Rawi added. According to him, every week local residents send letters to the Ministry of Interior and the local US media office seeking help, but no answers have been forthcoming. An Interior Ministry official said the raids were illegal and militias who perpetrate them should be punished, but he said it might take time to solve the problem. "We condemn these raids and ministry officials have been working to find a way of guaranteeing security to families and punishing the militants," said Lt-Col Khalid Abdel-Sherif, senior official in the Ministry of Interior. "Sectarian violence is behind most of the raids and this is a very delicate issue but we are sure that we can control the situation very soon." Although Abdel-Sherif promised to find a solution, families are scared and have started to set up their own neighborhood checkpoints to prevent raids during the night. However, this has proved to be dangerous -- many people have been killed. "We used to have at least five houses raided by militants every day. People were scared and always waiting to be the next victims of such raids," said Abu Ayad, 54, a resident of Ijjedida. "We have now set up our own checkpoints but it is common to see locals killed by militants while trying to protect the neighborhood." "I was shot at two weeks ago during the night while I was standing at our checkpoint, and a friend of mine was killed. As a result of our resistance, three women were raped, five children kidnapped and three men killed as they left work. All of the victims were relatives of those manning our checkpoint," he said. The Iraq Aid Association (IAA) spokesperson, Fatah Ahmed, said frightened families were leaving their homes after relatives had been seized by militants and were later found dead in the streets. Aid workers, he said, did not believe government reports which claimed security was improving. They dealt with displaced people daily, and the raids were becoming a fact of life. "We urge the government to use its power to exercise control over the militias. We know they aren't able to stop the violence in the streets but at least they ought to be able to stop attacks on Iraqi homes," he said. "The raids are seriously affecting children and women psychologically. They are the most vulnerable in this whole situation."