Iraq to remove squatters from homes of refugees

BAGHDAD, Jan 25 (Reuters) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said today Iraqi security forces would start to remove squatters from Baghdad homes they have illegally occupied since the owners fled sectarian intimidation and ethnic cleansing.

''Today or tomorrow we will start arresting those who are living in the homes of refugees to open the way for their return,'' he told parliament in a speech seeking support for a major US-backed security crackdown in the capital.

The crackdown, backed by some 17,000 US reinforcements, is seen as a last chance to stem sectarian violence in the capital.

Tens of thousands of people, including Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Christians, have fled their homes in Baghdad because of violence and threats that have turned many districts that used to be mixed into sectarian enclaves.

The United Nations says nearly half a million Iraqis have been internally displaced within Iraq since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February sparked a surge in sectarian attacks. Many more have fled the country.

Maliki, criticised for not doing enough about Shi'ite militias linked to some of his allies which are accused by Washington of operating death squads, has vowed to take on armed groups regardless of sect or political affiliation.

''We have worked hard to get professional officers to lead this plan, with no political affiliations. So let's all help these officers,'' Maliki said, answering criticism that the Iraqi army and police are infiltrated by sectarian militias.

REUTERS SP PM1556