Al-Awda (; ) is an Arab socialist political party in Iraq. Al-Awda's name began appearing in Iraq in June 2003 in anti-occupation graffiti and leaflets in Baghdad and to the north and west of the capital. The group is led by Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed, who is based in Syria.

Organization

The party was believed to be a network of underground cells, mainly in the key urban areas, composed of former Ba'ath Party officials, intelligence agents, former members of the Iraqi Republican Guard, and Fedayeen Saddam paramilitaries.

The group was believed to rely on the pre-war organization of the Ba'ath Party and the relationships forged between various individuals and organizations within Saddam Hussein's regime.

Propaganda and goals

The party propaganda indicated that its goal was to restore the regime of Saddam Hussein to power, as the name indicates, and expel multinational occupation forces from the country. Al-Awda is believed is to be the term coined by the insurgents for the Ba'ath Party following the fall of Saddam Hussein from power. The name was chosen for propaganda reasons to raise the threat of the Ba'ath Party's return to power and to evoke the Palestinian struggle against Israel.

In contrast to the JRTN, Ahmed has focused far more on securing political rehabilitation, amnesties and the repatriation of Baathist exiles than the violent overthrow of the Iraqi government.

Ahmed's attempts to recruit support in Syria from former Iraqi Ba'athists are meeting some success, particularly among the poorer Sunni Arab segment of the refugee population, due in part to Ahmed's ability to offer cash incentives and Syrian residency permits due to their closeness to the Syrian government. In contrast to al-Ahmed, al-Douri has stuck to a more conservative policy, recruiting members from largely Sunni-dominated areas. It's been rumoured that al-Awda has fought on the side of Bashar Al-Assad in the Syrian civil war

Attempts at reconciliation

According to leaked diplomatic cables, in March 2009, several members of the former Ba'athist government claiming to represent the Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed led faction of the Ba'ath party approached Coalition Forces and the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Saladin Governorate. The figures met with representatives of the Coalition instead of representatives of the Iraqi Government because they claimed the Iraqi government was under Iranian influence and might seek revenge against any Ba'ath Party members.

The representatives claimed that the Younis-led faction was dissatisfied with the present government of Iraq, which they claimed was sectarian and failed to provide infrastructure and public services. The representatives claimed that the Younis-led faction wasn't opposed to democracy and wished to participate peacefully in the democratic process. They also claimed that unlike the al-Douri-led faction, they recognized that the pre-2003 Ba'athist government had made many mistakes and that Iraq could not return to that system of government.

Government crackdowns

In December 2008, some 25 security officials were arrested for membership in Awda and attempting to restore the Ba'ath party, with some claiming they were planning a coup. The actual number of those involved may have reached 35, and included both Sunnis and Shiites and high-ranking generals at the Interior Ministry, some of whom Awda had allegedly recruited through bribery.

An Awda party senior official was arrested in a crackdown on the organization in Baaquba, Diyala, on 2 July 2010.

In October 2011, Iraqi security figures announced that they had detained 350 members of the Awda party in a large operation across several provinces. The government claimed the group had been trying to reorganize the Ba'ath party, and work to undermine stability in the country, with a mind to seizing power following the US withdrawal the following year. The group appeared to be quite active in Nasiriyah, with 36 Ba'ath party leaders arrested there.

References

  • Khaleej Times article