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UK troops to relocate after Mutthana handover

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, July 13, IRNA
UK Troops-Iraq Withdrawal
British troops in Iraq Thursday proceeded with the handover of the southern province of Mutthana to Iraqi authority as the first test case of the eventual withdrawal plans by the UK.

To formalize the transfer, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between British commander Major General John Cooper and Iraqi Governor of the Provincial Council Mohammed-Ali Hassan Abbas al- Hassani.

The handover, the first in the four provinces controlled by the UK, involves relatively low numbers of troops, thought to be just 700 British and Australian soldiers, but it is hoped to mark the beginning of a process to eventually return the entire country to the Iraqis.

Defence Secretary Des Browne welcomed the move as "a milestone for the people of Al Mutthana and their Provincial Council, and also for the people of Iraq."
"Today takes them one step nearer to assuming full responsibility for their own security and to building a stable and democratic future for their country," Browne said.

The sparsely populated province was chosen as the first due to the relatively few attacks in Al Muthana, which fell from five in January to just four in April, according to the latest published British figures.

But over the same period, attacks in Maysan increased from 8 to 23, while in Dhi Qar, where the handover has also apparently been delayed, the number grew from two to five in the first four months of this year.

The greatest concern is over Basra, where the number of attacks on British troops increased from 21 in January to 71 in April, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said that the handover will allow UK troops to relocate in the coming weeks, but will be retaining the capability to re-intervene if the Governor or Iraqi province judges that the security situation demands it.

The Iraqi security forces in Al Muthanna, which now number over 5,000, were said to have already assumed much of the day-to-day responsibility for providing security.

The British government has been under growing pressure to reduce its troop levels in Iraq due to fears of a civil war erupting and the burden placed on the UK's already overstretched armed forced, with added deployments in Afghanistan.

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