Sunni insurgents want revenge for rapes

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_rape;_ylt=AmLscTuBEy.XtgEZjV43rQoLewgF

Sunni insurgents want revenge for rapes

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 23, 8:33 AM ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arab clerics on Friday demanded justice for two women who claim they were sexually assaulted by the Shiite-dominated security forces, and several insurgent groups called for revenge attacks. In the capital's Abu Hanifa mosque, Sunni Islam's holiest shrine in
Iraq, Sheik Sameer al-Obeidi charged that the allegations showed that "gross human rights violations" were marring a major security sweep in Baghdad and demanded that women be treated with respect during the operations.

"No arrests of women, no rape of women and no nighttime raids," he demanded.

Another Sunni imam, Sheik Jamaleddin al-Kobeisi, preaching at al-Shawaf mosque in the capital's Yarmouk district, sought to steer his sermon from the Shiite-Sunni divide, saying Sunnis did not wish to see the rape allegations fuel sectarian violence and only wanted justice for the victims.

"The proud among us believe that killing all of Iraq's men is easier to accept than violating the honor of one Iraqi woman," he told worshippers.

Both rape allegations were made in TV interviews — unusual in Iraq, where the crime is rarely reported or discussed — and they have increased pressure on the Iraqi government in its fight against the enduring Sunni insurgency and sectarian violence.