Ali Hatem al-Suleiman

Ali Hatem Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Suleiman al-Assafi al-Dulaimi (Arabic: علي حاتم السليمان‎) (born 1971) is a Sunni sheikh in Anbar province. He is the former Emir of the Dulaim tribe, a position now held by his brother, Abdulrazzaq Hatem Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Suleiman al-Assafi al-Dulaimi.[1]

Ali Hatem al-Suleiman
علي حاتم السليمان
Born1971 (age 48–49)
Baghdad
OccupationSunni tribal chief in Al Anbar
Known forParticipation in the Sons of Iraq movement

Early life

Suleiman was born in Baghdad in 1971.[2] His father, Abdul Razzaq, was the emir of the Dulaim tribe, one of the largest Arab tribes in Iraq. His grandfather, Ali al-Suleiman, led the confederation during the founding of Iraq.[3] Its members are predominantly located in the Al Anbar Governorate.[4]

Iraq War

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Suleiman joined the Iraqi insurgency. His own tribe formed the nucleus of the resistance/insurgency against US forces and Shiite government forces in Iraq, due to the bombing of Fallujah and the targeting of Sunnis in Baghdad. However, in 2006 he and his armed tribesmen turned against Al-Qaeda, due to their often indiscriminate use of violence, as well as the fact that Al-Qaeda did not give enough respect to Anbar's sheikhs.[5] Suleiman joined the Sons of Iraq movement, although he looked down on its leader, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, due to the small size of the Abu Risha tribe.[6]

After leaving the insurgency, Suleiman became an important figure in Anbar. He formed a local police force of 60,000 gunmen from his tribe in Anbar.[5]

Suleiman formed a political party, National Front for the Salvation of Iraq, in 2008. It ran as part of the State of Law Coalition of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but quickly disagreements appeared, after the arrest of 10 men from his tribe in Ar Rutba, by the Karbala police. In response to the incident, Suleiman threaten to declare the State of Anbar. Suleiman formed another party (Baariq Iraq). However, his political party was banned from participating in the elections in 2014.

After the withdrawal of US troops, the Shiite government forces started to arrest Dulaimi civilians and killed them in Anbar. Suleiman, his brother Sheikh Abdulrazzaq, and other sheikhs of the tribe set up weekly demonstrations in Ramadi in the Square of Pride and Dignity, for one year, demanding the release of Sunni detainees and the withdrawal of the army from the cities in Anbar. The government responded by killing ali al-Alwani and arresting his brother, Sunni MP Ahmed al-Alwani, from the Dulaim tribe (Albo-alon clan). As a result, the Dulaimis returned to the armed insurgency led by Suleiman.

Suleiman formed the Military Council of the tribal rebels in Al-Anbar. He announced in a statement that Sunni territories will not be part of Iraq under Shiite rule.

2013–14 anti-government offensives
Flag of Suleiman's group, the Revolutionary Tribal Council.

In 2013 and 2014, Suleiman was the leader of the Anbar Tribes Revolutionary Council, an anti-government militant group active in the ongoing Anbar clashes. Unlike some of the other groups active in anti-government activity, Suleiman's force does not advocate the overthrow of the Iraqi government, but instead is limited in ambition to defending Anbar from what it sees as aggression from the Iraqi central government.[7]

Suleiman was involved in the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, and he claimed that ISIL only constitutes 5–7% of the anti-government forces. He claimed that the majority of fighters are from Iraq's Sunni tribes. Suleiman also claimed that these tribal forces would be able to defeat ISIL, were the Maliki-run Iraqi government to withdraw government forces from north and north-central Iraq.[8] However, Suleiman claimed that tribal forces would not fight ISIL until Maliki was removed from office and Sunnis are given their rights.[9]

In early 2015, during the Battle of Ramadi, ISIL overran Suleiman's lands and forced him to retreat to Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan.[10]

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See also

References
  1. Inoma, Ali (14 March 2014). "Anbar witnesses political divide amid ongoing clashes". Anbar, Iraq: Al-Monitor.
  2. Al-Anbar Awakening Vol II: Iraqi Perspectives, p.107
  3. Malkasian, Carter (2017). Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic State. Oxford University Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780190659424. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  4. http://www.aawsat.net/2014/06/article55333359
  5. Manfredi, Federico (16 August 2010). "Iraq's Crooked Politicians: Talking With Sheik Ali Hatem, Leader of the Sunni Awakening Councils". The Huffington Post.
  6. Malkasian, Illusions of Victory, p. 162.
  7. Sowell, Kirk H. (15 January 2014). "Maliki's Anbar Blunder". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014.
  8. Koplowitz, Howard (16 June 2014). "Iraq Crisis Update: ISIS Seizes Tal Afar Amid Conflicting Reports Of Clashes Near Baghdad [MAP]". International Business Times.
  9. Brown, Matt (16 June 2014). "Execution images underline Iraq's deepening crisis". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014.
  10. Malkasian, Illusions of Victory, p. 182.
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