Makliki says more troops for volatile Diyala

Above: Iraqi security forces gather at an Iraqi police patrol base in Khalis in Diyala province in April.

BAGHDAD, May 13 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday he would send more troops to volatile Diyala province in a bid to halt sectarian fighting that has forced out hundreds of families in the past five days.

Maliki did not say how many extra Iraqi security forces would follow 3,000 U.S. troops already sent to the religiously mixed province northeast of Baghdad during the past six weeks.

"In the next few days we will increase the number of troops in the Iraqi Army ... and the police on a significant level," he told reporters.

The Iraqi Red Crescent said 768 Shi'ite families have left villages near the town of Khalis in Diyala after militants swept through and forced them out.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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