Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised training for allied tribal militia and over USD 83 million in construction funds during a visit today to Ramadi, where militants hold territory seized weeks ago.
The measures are the latest in a bid to placate people in Anbar province, whose capital is Ramadi, and Iraq's broader Sunni Arab minority, which complains of marginalisation by the government and of being unfairly targeted by heavy-handed security measures.
Maliki's visit came as militants killed more than two dozen soldiers and police in other parts of the country over two days and held part of the northern town of Sulaiman Bek, another front in the persistent rebellion against his Shiite-led government in Sunni areas.
It was the first time Maliki is known to have travelled to Anbar since jihadists and anti-government tribesmen seized parts of Ramadi and all of nearby Fallujah at the start of the year, in a major setback for his government.
The premier's spokesman, Ali Mussawi, told AFP he met with provincial officials and leaders of powerful local tribes.
"We came to confirm our support to our people and our tribes in Anbar," Mussawi quoted Maliki as saying.
He also announced 100 billion dinars (about USD 83.3 million/60.8 million euros) in construction funds for the province, and that security forces would provide training to pro-government tribesmen, Mussawi said.
But with corruption a major and persistent problem in Iraq, it is unclear how much of the construction money will provide tangible benefits to Anbar residents.
Earlier this week, Maliki said tribesmen who fight on the side of the government would be incorporated into the Anbar police, but it was not immediately clear how the new promise fits into that plan.
The takeovers in Anbar are the first time anti-government forces have exercised such open control in major cities since the bloody insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.
More than 3,70,000 people may have been displaced by Anbar violence, according to the UN.
The prospects of a quick resolution to the crisis seem slim, with Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani saying the strategy for retaking Fallujah is to surround it and wait for Sunni Arab gunmen to run short of weapons and equipment.
