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The Road of Death: Baghdad to Kirkuk
highway
30.6.2006
By Frman Abdulrahman in Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah (ICR
No. 183, 30-Jun-06) |
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Kurds fear for their lives when traveling along
the notorious Baghdad to Kirkuk highway.
In October 2005, Shamal Abdulkareem, a Kurdish
trader, was driving his new BMW from Baghdad to
Kirkuk when gunmen ambushed him on the Uzem road.
They stole his car and the 30,000 US dollars he was
carrying to purchase goods. He was locked up in a
house for two weeks, beaten and given little food or
water. Eventually, the kidnappers let him go in
exchange for a 50,000 dollar ransom, which his
family paid.
Although the abductors claimed to be members of an
Islamic group, Abdulkareem believes they were common
criminals in search of financial gain. He says he
never once saw them pray.
"Those gunmen have no morality - they are beasts,”
said Abdulkareem.
While there are no statistics available on how many
people have been kidnapped on the Uzem road, it is
quickly developing a reputation as one of the most
dangerous thoroughfares in Iraq. Kurds have taken to
calling it the “Road of Death”.
In August 2005, convoys of Iraqi president Jalal
Talabani’s guards were attacked on the road and five
of them were killed.
Named after the Uzem district between Baghdad and
Kirkuk, it stretches for 110 kilometres across the
plains and serves as the main highway between the
capital and the north of the country.
Because it is the most direct route to Baghdad, it
was used a lot after the fall of Sadaam when it
became possible for Kurds to travel to the capital.
Now, however, militants stalk the road, ambushing
and kidnapping Kurds. Some of the militant groups
are in it for the money and target Kurds because
they believe them to be wealthier than Arabs.
Others are likely remnants of the Baath regime,
who’ve long regarded Kurds as their enemies.
And yet others are Islamic groups who accuse the
Kurds of collaborating and cooperating with American
troops.
Sometimes, according to police sources in Kirkuk,
the groups cooperate and sell victims to one
another.
Policing the road is difficult because Uzem is part
of Tikrit province, which is controlled by a largely
Arab police force that has no links with the mainly
Kurdish law enforcers of Kirkuk.
Many who travel the road say that both tribes and
security forces aid the kidnappers and that the
police turn a blind eye.
Abdulkareem said he recognised one of the people who
beat him as the son of one of the tribal leaders in
the area in which he was abducted.
"Most of the deals the militants do with the
families of kidnapped people are done through tribal
leaders," he said.
When taxi driver Nuri Hamasalih was kidnapped and
beaten in December 2005, his family went to the
police for help. They advised them to pay the 32,000
dollar ransom the kidnappers were demanding.
“The Iraqi police have given them [kidnappers] more
strength," complained Hamasalih.
In December 2005, the Kirkuk police arrested what it
described as two of the main kidnappers working the
Uzem road - both Arabs. They reportedly confessed to
kidnapping 70 Kurds whom they either killed or
handed over for ransom.
They also confessed to sexually abusing some women.
The kidnappings diminished somewhat following the
arrests, but the Uzem road remains dangerous.
Ata Osman, who runs a transport company from Chia,
said that his drivers have stopped traveling to
Baghdad because of the danger, and that this has
hurt his business.
"When the militants catch a Kurd they feel like they
have got a precious thing," he said. “Whatever they
want you have to give them, if you don’t have it you
should get it somewhere, or they will kill you."
Frman Abdulrahman is a Sulaimaniyah-based IWPR
contributor.
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