Iraqi Tribes Become 'State within a State'

Sheikh Ali Hassan, who participated in this tribal march, told Al-Monitor, “The tribe usually holds funerals of its members with a torrent of shots and tribal chants glorifying the deceased and enumerating the qualities of the deceased.”

The local population calls these armed marches “arada,” which they prepare a few days before, along with ammunition and weapons, and identify who will be firing guns.

Sheikh Majid al-Kallabi told Al-Monitor, “The arada has its own rules that the tribal leader is keen to apply, as he assigns who may use firearms to avoid any accidents.”

In the western, central and southern parts of Iraq, tribes are accustomed to using firearms on sad occasions, such as the death of a sheikh, or of a well-known tribal figure, as well as on more joyous occasions, such as circumcision ceremonies and weddings, which are Iraqi ancient social traditions.

The fragmentation of the Iraqi state after 2003, the looting of weapons from former Iraqi army bases and the lack of control over the borders with neighboring countries have led to an increase in the number of weapons among the local population, particularly the tribes in rural areas.

Ali al-Jubouri, a security officer in Iraq, told Al-Monitor, “These weapons are a real problem and are causing harm to civil peace.”

Tribal battles involving bombers and mortars erupted in northern Basra on March 11, 2014, between the Bani Malik and the Al-Boubkheet tribes, causing many deaths and injuries.

Hassan Sayyed Salman, an Iraqi politician who once served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Iraqi Media Network, told Al-Monitor, “One of the reasons behind the growing armed tribal phenomenon showing their weapons without any legal deterrent, is that some political parties have used the tribes as a military or political force that supports them and their projects.”