Tensions mount over fate of Sunni force

BAGHDAD, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Plans by U.S. strategists in Iraq to hand over authority over the Sunni-led force Sons of Iraq to Baghdad stoke concern over the durability of sectarian calm.

U.S. military strategists employed members of the Sons of Iraq, who came out of the Anbar Awakening in 2005, as a paramilitary force to combat al-Qaida. Around 25 percent of the force was intended for conventional security roles, while the remainder would work on reconstruction.

But only a fraction have been incorporated into Iraqi security forces, leaving some to question whether a level of frustration from Sunnis would prompt the Awakening members to turn their attention to the Shiite-led government of Baghdad, the Inter Press Service reported Wednesday.

Furthermore, as U.S. officials credited the Sunni movement with helping to bring relative calm to Iraq, many of its tribal leaders are hoping for a position of power in the coming provincial elections.

Prohibiting that involvement could stoke further resentment between the Sunni Awakening and the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who hopes to disband the movement.

Adding to the simmering tension are targeted assassinations against tribal leaders and claims of unwarranted arrests, leaving the security gains from the U.S. troop surge on fragile grounds, the report said.