Iraq Ends License of US Security Firm Blackwater
By VOA News
29 January 2009
The Iraqi government says U.S. security firm Blackwater is no longer authorized to operate in Iraq, where it provides protection to U.S. diplomats.
Baghdad has accused Blackwater security guards of unlawfully killing 17 Iraqi civilians in a 2007 Baghdad shooting.
Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Thursday that Blackwater's Iraqi license has expired and Baghdad will not renew it. Iraq now has authority over such matters, under a security pact with the United States that took force this month.
A U.S. official in Baghdad said the embassy has been informed of the decision, but no specific date when Blackwater would have to leave.
Five American Blackwater guards involved in the 2007 shooting are on trial in Washington on charges of manslaughter in the killing of 14 unarmed Iraqis. U.S. officials are investigating several other deaths in the case.
The Blackwater guards say they came under fire while protecting a U.S. State Department convoy. Defense lawyers say the men are innocent.
Last month, State Department officials warned that Blackwater may lose its Iraqi license, requiring the incoming Obama administration to find a new company to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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