More than 14000 Iraqis Missing Since 2003 US-led Occupation, Iraq Demands Withdrawal of Troops

Local Editor

The Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights revealed that over 14,000 Iraqi civilians are missing since the 2003 US occupation of the country.
AFP reported that Arkan Kamel, an official in the Iraqi ministry said, "We have registered the names of 14,025 people, who have gone missing since 2003. Until now, we have only found seven from the registered names at the morgues".

Kamel added that the missing persons include those who disappeared during war operations, explosions and terrorism attacks.
The US led the Iraq war under the pretext that the country possesses weapons of mass destruction, which was later revealed to be untrue, yet the US and British alliance troops, prompted a hugely destructive military action.

As a result of the western occupation, the Opinion Research Business British polling group indicated that over one million Iraqis were bloodily killed.
After years of waiting, the western troops occupying the Iraqi territories are scheduled to withdraw by the end of 2011, although some US officials have been trying to further extend the military presence of their troops.

In this context, Reuters reported on Sunday that thousands of Iraqi people protested in the northern areas of Iraq, demanding the withdrawal of the US troops from their country.
The agency added that around 5000 people assembled in the city of Mosul, and among protesters were provincial council members and tribal leaders.

Sheikh Barzan Al Badrani, Chief of Mosul's Badrani tribe, said that the Iraqi protesters are trying to put pressure on the Iraqi government to not even think about extending the presence of US troops which have brought havoc to the Iraqi country.

"The second demand is for the release of detainees held in Iraqi prisons... and the other is to make reforms in the Iraqi government. We do not accept corrupt officials and regret that we voted for them", Sheikh Al Badrani said.
Various Iraqi tribes from different Iraqi regions joined the Mosul protest demanding the retreat of the US-led occupying forces.