As Iraqis return home, challenges await

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Hamid Misshed was forced from his home in 2005 because of sectarian fighting instigated by extremist groups who sought sanctuary in the villages of al-Bata and al-Hemidat. When Misshed returned two months ago, he found that his home was destroyed and all his furniture and belongings were stolen.


As Iraqis return home, challenges await
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, May 12, 2008

AL-BATA, Iraq — Before the war, Hamid Misshed used to tend to his front-yard garden and mind the crops. Water from the Diyala River fed the fields, and there was peace with his Sunni neighbors next door.

But three years ago, everything changed for Misshed and the 1,200 other people who have called the twin villages of al-Bata and al-Hemidat home for generations.

“In the beginning we refused to leave,” said the 67-year-old, who shouts out his words. “But eventually we had to go.”

In 2005, terrorists descended on al-Bata, home of Sunnis, and al-Hemidat, home of Shiites. Sunni and Shiite extremists quickly went to work. Amid the gunfights, mortars and kidnappings, neighbor turned against neighbor. The villages soon became ghost towns.

“When we first arrived there was no one here. All the residents had fled,” said Capt. Troy Thomas, commander of Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment.



Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54724