Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech at Lowy Institute in Sydney 13March , 2009. (Image:Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday said the army will leave cities in Anbar province, in a bid to defuse tensions after security forces closed a major Sunni anti-government protest camp.
Maliki called on "the armed forces to devote themselves to... pursuing Al-Qaeda hideouts in the desert of Anbar (province)" and for the army to turn over "the administration of the cities to the hand of the local and federal police," a statement on his website said.
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