Sunnis Flee Fighting That Has Killed 91

[Barrett808]

Sunnis Flee Fighting That Has Killed 91
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Muslims were fleeing across the Tigris River on Monday, trying to escape a four-day rampage of sectarian fighting in their Shiite-dominated home city north of Baghdad. At least 91 people have died -- all but 17 of them Sunnis.

Sunnis, a minority in the city of Balad, said militiamen had been going door to door, giving them two hours to clear out of their homes, and one police officer said the bodies of the city's Sunni minority lay unclaimed in the streets.

The government and its police and armed forces appeared unable or unwilling to stop the bloodshed in Balad and its environs that may set the standard for the building inter-communal conflict should it spread further and the pace hasten, which appeared likely.

The Balad fighting exploded Friday with the discovery of the headless bodies of 17 Shiite workers in an orchard near the city, 50 miles north of Baghdad.

Shiites swiftly retaliated by setting up roadblocks in the predominantly Shiite city, ringed by Sunni-dominated villages, towns and farmland. Revenge-seekers caught, took away and shot Sunnis, guilty or not, witnesses said. All refused to give their names for fear of retribution.

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http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/10/16/ap/international/d8kppt7o0.txt