Iraq back in the news

Iraq is back in the news this week - for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, Brirish troops are again under investigation for the abuse of detainees - including allegations of the horrific rape of a sixteen year old boy. The Independent reports:
): Disturbing graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers are among 33 new torture cases being investigated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The fresh claims include allegations that female and male soldiers sexually abused and humiliated detainees in camps in southern Iraq, prompting comparisons with the torture practices employed by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre that came to light in 2004.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-soldiers-sexually-abused-us-claim-iraqis-1820973.html

Secondly, The Guardian has a story about a fifteenfold rise in birth defects in Fallujah, which saw some of the worst aerial bombardment of the conflict:
Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.

Dr Bassam Allah, the head of the hospital's children's ward, this week urged international experts to take soil samples across Falluja and for scientists to mount an investigation into the causes of so many ailments, most of which he said had been "acquired" by mothers before or during pregnancy.
Other health officials are also starting to focus on possible reasons, chief among them potential chemical or radiation poisonings. Abnormal clusters of infant tumours have also been repeatedly cited in Basra and Najaf – areas that have in the past also been intense battle zones where modern munitions have been heavily used.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/13/falluja-cancer-children-birth-defects

And thirdly, there are real fears of a slide towards dictatorship, as these two stories indicate:
Reporters face violence as Iraq cracks down on media dissent
The Guardian reports (November 5th): Iraqis are fearing a renewed crackdown on dissent as a crucial national poll draws near, with several journalists claiming to have been beaten by security forces and ministers issuing warnings about media coverage.
Iraq's communications minister, Faruq Abd Al-Qadir, has introduced a $5,000 (£3,000) licence fee for all broadcast media outlets and ordered the staff of the 58 media and television stations operating in the country to apply for work permits.
The new rules come after a summer crackdown on internet access in which communications authorities warned service providers and internet cafes they would to block access to websites deemed to be offensive.
The tighter controls have also been interpreted as evidence of a creeping police state, in which some hard-won freedoms of the last six years are being rolled back.
Three journalists this week reported having been beaten by soldiers while covering routine security stories.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/05/iraq-government-warn-media

Iraqi Armed Troops Fire at Peaceful Demonstration in Baghdad

ICEM reports (November 2nd):ICEM received a report from the Federation of Workers’ Councils and Unions (FWCUI) that a workers’ demonstration in Baghdad was fired upon by armed forces. The demonstration and use of armed force occurred on 6 October near the Green Zone in central Baghdad. The report the ICEM received from the FWCUI said many of the 2,000 protestors were hit with rubber bullets. The march on started at Al Tahreer Square, and crossed Al Jumhoria Bridge towards the Green Zone, where armed forces indiscriminately fired upon and beat demonstrators. Four workers were severely beaten and arrested.

http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3469-