Anbar clashes (2013–2014)

Overview

Beginning in December 2012, Sunnis in Iraq protested against the Maliki government. On 28 December 2013, a Sunni MP named Ahmed al-Alwani was arrested in a raid on his home in Ramadi. Alwani was a prominent supporter of the anti-government protests. This incident led to violence in Al Anbar Governorate between the Iraqi Army and a loose alliance of tribal militias and other groups fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Anbar clashes emerged from sustained Sunni political grievances against the Maliki government, which had been building since December 2012. The arrest of Sunni MP Ahmed al-Alwani in Ramadi on 28 December 2013 served as the immediate trigger, converting protest into armed conflict across Al Anbar Governorate. The fighting pitted the Iraqi Army against a coalition of tribal militias and ISIL, reflecting the degree to which political alienation had driven Sunni communities toward alignment, or at least tactical convergence, with the insurgency. The clashes marked an early escalation point in what became the broader Iraqi Civil War of 2014–2017, demonstrating that ISIL could operate not in isolation but alongside tribal actors, complicating the Iraqi government's military and political response in one of the country's most strategically significant provinces.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (17)