The 2013 Hawija clashes relate to a series of violent attacks within Iraq, as part of the 2012–2013 Iraqi protests and Iraqi insurgency post-U.S. withdrawal. On 23 April, an army raid against a protest encampment in the city of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, led to dozens of civilian deaths and the involvement of several insurgent groups in organized action against the government, leading to fears of a return to a wide-scale Sunni–Shia conflict within the country. By 27 April, more than 300 people were reported killed and scores more injured in one of the worst outbreaks of violence since the U.S. withdrawal in December 2011.
Background
Violence in Iraq has decreased since its peak in 2006–07, but attacks remain common. Deaths rose in 2012 for the first time in three years.
In the months leading up to the 20 April provincial elections, the first since the withdrawal of US forces in 2011, tensions were high in Iraq as Sunni groups claimed they were being marginalized by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite dominated government. A number of large scale attacks linked to the Salafist umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were carried out in early 2013 in an attempt to destabilize the country ahead of the elections. At least fourteen election candidates were murdered, while Anbar and Nineveh Governorates postponed elections because of security concerns. Four other governorates did not hold elections on 20 April.
Timeline
Hawija protests
On Friday 19 April a group of protesters marched toward an Iraqi Army checkpoint in Hawija, a town west of Kirkuk, sparking a violent confrontation in which one civilian and one Iraqi officer were killed. Following the refusal of residents to hand the suspects over to security forces, Hawija was put under siege. Government sources reported the protesters had stolen some weapons from the checkpoint after the attack took place.
On 23 April, Iraqi Army units moved against the encampment set up by protesters in Hawija, sparking deadly clashes and reprisal attacks across the country. According to army officers, the operation began shortly before dawn and was aimed at Sunni militants from the Naqshbandi Army, who were reportedly involved in the protest movement. Army officials said their forces only opened fire after being fired upon, and they confiscated at least 34 Kalashnikov assault rifles and 4 PKM machineguns after the clashes had ended. A total of 42 people were killed and at least 153 others injured, with most of them being protesters; only 3 soldiers were confirmed dead and 7 others wounded. United Nations spokeswoman in Iraq, Eliana Nabaa, confirmed there were many casualties. The organizers behind the protests disputed the Army's account of events and accused them of killing and injuring innocent people. According to Abdulmalik al-Juburi, one of the leaders of the Hawija movement, Army units "burned the tents and opened fire indiscriminately and killed and wounded dozens of protesters". He also denied harboring any wanted criminals and said there was only four rifles used to protect the whole gathering, placing the official military report under question. After news of the assault broke, several checkpoints around Kirkuk were attacked by groups of armed gunmen, and at least 13 of them were killed by security forces. Unidentified assailants attacked a checkpoint near Ramadi, killing 6 soldiers and kidnapping another, while setting fire to the building and two armored vehicles. An additional attack took place near Sulaiman Bek in Saladin Governorate, where six soldiers and a gunman were killed, while 11 soldiers and six attackers were left injured. Attacks against three checkpoints on the road to Tikrit left 9 police officers dead and 5 others injured. Four bodies were found dumped in Fallujah and one in Iskandariya, while an IED attack in Baaj killed a soldiers and injured another. Four soldiers were wounded in a shooting near Al-Karmah, while in Haswa gunmen stormed a Sahwa militia member's home, killing five members of his family. Army units cut off-road access to Kirkuk in the evening, as a curfew came into effect for the region. On the same day, at least 13 others were killed and 25 injured as they left Sunni mosques in Baghdad and Diyala Governorate. A bomb in Mosul killed a policeman and injured another, while mortars killed 9 and wounded 25 in Muqdadiyah. In addition, the Minister of Education Mohammed Tamim resigned from his post in response to the Army's operation, and was followed later by Science and Technology Minister Abd al-Karim al-Samarrai. Samarrai is part of the Renewal List, while Tamim is a member of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front and was born in Hawija.