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Abdul Sattar Abu Risha
Born	1972
Died	September 13, 2007 Ramadi
Other names	Abdul Sattar Buzaigh Hisham al-Rishawi, Sheikh Sittar
Occupation	Sunni Tribal Chief in Al-Anbar
Known for	"Anbar Awakening" - opposing al-Qaeda in Iraq

Abdul Sattar Abu Risha (Arabic: عبد الستار أبو ريشة‎) - Sheikh Abdul Sattar Eftikhan al-Rishawi ad-Dulaimi الشيخ عبد الستار افتيخان الريشاوي الدليمي - (born 1972 – September 13, 2007) was a high-profile Iraqi tribal sheikh. He was leader of an alliance of Iraqi Sunni Arab tribe that opposed al-Qaeda in Iraq, and son of the chief of the 160,000 strong Albu Risha clan, a subset of the Dulaim tribe, the largest and most important tribe in Iraq.

Abu Risha was assassinated shortly after becoming an ally of the Iraqi government through forming an organisation of fellow tribal chiefs called the Sahawat al-Anbar or the Anbar Awakening, based in Anbar's provincial capital of Ramadi, some 70 miles (110 km) west of Baghdad. His ultimate goal was the establishment of Sunni federalism in western Iraq, including some areas in Baghdad and Babil province where his tribe forms the majority.

Contents 1 Life 2 Death 3 Quotes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Life

Abu Risha was the grandson of a tribal leader in the Iraqi revolt against the British occupying forces in 1920 and the son of a commander in the Anglo-Iraqi War in 1941. Little is known about Abu Risha's life prior to the Iraq War, albeit he reportedly ran a construction and import-export business with offices in Amman, Jordan and Dubai, UAE.

According to The Washington Post, "he was called a warlord and a highway bandit, an oil smuggler and an opportunist".^[1] Many of the Awakening leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the Iraqi insurgency, though Sattar claimed he never did.

During the early part of the insurgency following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as al-Qaeda's fighters tightened their grip on Ramadi, it is reported that they became increasingly repressive and challenged the tribal leaders' power. Soon they were kidnapping and beheading innocent people as part of a campaign of extortion and intimidation. According to Sheikh Abdul Sattar in March 2007, "We began to see what they were actually doing in Anbar province. They were not respecting us or honouring us in any way, their tactics were not acceptable." His own father and two brothers were killed by al-Qaeda.

During the late summer of 2006 Abu Risha began enlisting his fellow sheikhs in Sahawat al-Anbar and encouraging members of his tribe to join the local police force. The U.S. forces under Lt. Col. Tony Deane encouraged Sattar and provided security for the initial meetings of the Al Anbar tribal meetings at Sattar's compound in western Ramadi. These early meetings were the beginning of what grew into the Anbar Salvation Council by the fall of 2006. His movement eventually counted 41 clans from Anbar province, though he acknowledged that some groups in the province had yet to join.^[2] The development led to a sharp reduction of violence in the province and forced many al-Qaeda fighters to flee to other regions of Iraq.

[edit] Death

Abu Risha was assassinated on September 13, 2007, along with three of his guards by an improvised explosive device planted on the road near the gate of his house in Ramadi.^[1] His funeral attracted about 1,500 mourners, including Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Interior Minister Jawad Jawad Bulani, Defense Minister General Qadir Obeidi and Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno, second in command of U.S. forces in Iraq, and sparked vows of revenge.^[3]

Several dozen people were arrested in connection with his death, including the head of the security detail that was supposed to protect the sheik.^[4] Al-Qaeda in Iraq took responsibility for the attack.

After Abu Risha's death, his brother, Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, was selected to take over leadership of the Anbar Salvation Council by the sheiks of the province.^[5]

[edit] Quotes

• "We did not support the U.S. forces or anyone else - We fought on behalf of our people and defeated al-Qaeda.
• "We will continue to defend Iraq and we will continue to raise the flag of Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest), and we will enter Baghdad. We are not interested in the post of minister, prime minister, or president of the republic."

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Abdul Sattar Abu Risha

• The man who might save Iraq, Asia Times, May 5, 2007
• Obituary: Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, BBC News, September 14, 2007