By Missy Ryan BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Fears that the U.S. military's handover of neighbourhood guard units to Iraqi control would unleash a new wave of violence in Baghdad have so far proved unwarranted, the U.S. military said. For weeks ahead of the transfer of responsibility for Baghdad's 51,000 neighbourhood guards, leaders voiced fears they could be arrested or attacked by those in the government who harbour grudges against former enemies. Many of the guards, grouped together in "Awakening Councils", are former Sunni insurgents seen as a threat by some within Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Kulmayer, a senior reconciliation official for U.S. forces in Iraq, said on Friday that there had been no spike in attacks or arrests since the Oct. 1 handover. "Another piece of sovereignty has returned to Iraq," Kulmayer, who helped oversee the transfer, said in an interview. Maliki's government will command and pay the guards, who are credited with helping staunch bloodshed since they appeared in 2006 as a grassroots response to al Qaeda militants. The transition to state control is seen as a test for Iraq, where violence has dropped to four year lows but political and sectarian reconciliation is proving more elusive. Colin Kahl, an Iraq expert at Georgetown University, said Washington ran the risk of seeing Awakening leaders, who had risked their lives to take part in the U.S. project, supporting or simply tolerating insurgent activity if they felt they were not properly treated. The test, he said, was whether the government will "address the honour and prestige these guys feel is coming to them". US SEES SMOOTH TRANSITION Kulmayer said the handover had been uneventful. "The Sons of Iraq (have) reported to their positions and continued to provide critical infrastructure security here in Baghdad," he said. This year, some 480 guards have been killed, according to the U.S. military. Three have been killed since the handover. No figures are available for arrests of Awakening guards, but there have been reports that Iraqi officials have sought to arrest hundreds of them. For the moment, the United States sees Sunni Islamist al Qaeda as the chief menace for Awakening guards. But Khalid al-Qaisi, an Awakening leader in the Fadhil neighbourhood of Baghdad, sees his guards hemmed in by a trio of threats: al Qaeda, government vendettas and Shi'ite militias. Qaisi said the future security of Iraq would depend on the Awakening. "They are a real force on the ground." A smooth transition for the Awakening guards, who number close to 100,000 nationwide, becomes especially important as Washington prepares to reduce its troops of around 145,000. Kulmayer said the Iraqi government was living up to its promises to embrace the guards: "The government more and more, almost every day ... are coming out and saying 'We are going to take care of these men'." But U.S. officials have complained about the slow pace at which the guards, who they call "Sons of Iraq", are being incorporated into Iraq's largely Shi'ite security forces. Iraq will pay the guards from next month. No date is set for transferring Awakening Councils in areas outside Baghdad to Iraqi control, Kulmayer said. "It's Iraqi security forces commanding Iraqi security on Iraqi streets. That's the way it has to be in this country." (Additional reporting by Khalid al-Ansary; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Bolivian President Evo Morales (L) shakes hands with Iranian official Hojjatollah Soltani at the Presidential Palace in La Paz October 10, 2008. Bolivia and Iran signed an agreement to build two ...
