2012–13 Iraqi protests | |||
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Part of the Iraqi insurgency (2011–13) | |||
Date | 21 December 2012 (~1 year) |
– December 2013||
Location | Iraq | ||
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Casualties | |||
Death(s) | 200+ |
Decentralized leadership
The 2012–13 Iraqi protests started on 21 December 2012 following a raid on the home of Sunni Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi and the arrest of 10 of his bodyguards. Beginning in Fallujah, the protests afterwards spread throughout Sunni Arab parts of Iraq, and even gained support from non-Sunni Iraqi politicians such as Muqtada al-Sadr. The protests centered on the issue of the alleged sectarianism of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Pro-Maliki protests also took place throughout central and southern Iraq, where there is a Shia Arab majority. In April 2013, sectarian violence escalated after the 2013 Hawija clashes. The aggresive protests continued throughout 2013, and in December Maliki used security forces to forcefully close down the main protest camp, in Ramadi. Sunnis took up arms in response, and joined forces with the General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries (GMCIR) to conduct a military campaign against the Iraqi government. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) would later grow out of this civil conflict.