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BAGHDAD, Iraq (March 5, 2008) - With the security situation here
improving every day, Iraqi and coalition forces increasingly are
helping displaced families move back into their old
neighborhoods.
Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division's Company A, 1st
Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, in
cooperation with Iraqi security forces, the local reconciliation
committee, and local and civic leaders, recently welcomed more than
100 families to an informational meeting aimed at returning them to
their southwestern Baghdad homes.
The soldiers escorted the families to Combat Outpost 803, where
they received information about returning to their homes from
members of the Aamel Reconciliation Committee. The committee,
formed in October, consists of five Shiite and five Sunni members,
and despite significant pressure from extremists, has focused on
reducing violence between the two sects and setting conditions for
improved quality of life.
For the U.S. military company commander in the area, the return
is a culmination of a year's worth of hard work.
"To see 300 citizens from Aamel here for this ceremony and to
welcome 100 formerly displaced families back to their homes is an
event we could not have imagined six months ago" said Army Capt.
Sean Lyons, of Burlington, Iowa, the Company A commander.
For one Iraqi, the combination of coalition forces and the
agreement to reconcile differences set the neighborhood on the path
to success.
"Citizens from each (neighborhood) in Aamel are extremely happy
with the peaceful conditions that have occurred because of the
reconciliation agreement that Captain Lyons and Attack Company
helped us develop," said Dr. Hammed Aziz, the senior Reconciliation
Committee member at the event.
Company A's senior enlisted soldier said the security situation
improved because of his unit's stance against various criminal
elements.
"Our soldiers were under constant contact with the enemy when we
arrived in Aamel," said Army 1st. Sgt. Jeffery Griffith, of Silas,
Ala. "The pressure we placed on the (Iranian-supported) 'special
groups' criminals and the reconciliation agreement have sharply
reduced violence in this area."
Helping displaced families return home is a complicated process,
because many families do not have deeds to their homes, making
their claims difficult to substantiate.
"We feel very comfortable that law-abiding families are moving
back into the neighborhoods," Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sowder, a
platoon sergeant from Bedford, Ind., said. "The system we are using
with the Iraqi leaders ensures the proper family is moving back
into the abandoned homes and that terrorists are not allowed into
Aamel to create problems.
"Moving families back into abandoned houses actually improves
the overall security conditions in Aamel," he continued. "We look
forward to continuing this program."
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