The Return (guerrilla organization)

The Return, known in Arabic as "al-Awda" (Arabic: العودة) is a guerrilla organization in Iraq. "Al-Awda's" name first began appearing in Iraq in June 2003 in anti-occupation graffiti and leaflets in Baghdad and to the north and west of the capital.

Organization

The organization 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 militia. 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 group's 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 apparently chosen for propaganda reasons not only to raise the threat of the Ba'ath Party's return to power but also to evoke the Palestinian struggle against Israel.

History

The guerillas primarily operated in the Sunni Triangle, north and west of Baghdad, where before the war, the Ba'ath Party was an omnipresent part of society and support for Saddam Hussein was strongest. During the early stages of the insurgency, at the beginning of the summer of 2003, Coalition intelligence believed al-Awda to be the greatest armed threat to the multinational coalition.

Since then, other insurgent groups, especially with Islamist leanings, have apparently eclipsed al-Awda in the insurgency and the group has not surfaced often in the media since the autumn of 2003. Nevertheless, al-Awda members are still believed to be operating in north-central Iraq, in the Sunni Arab areas between Samarra and Mosul, and playing a supporting role in the insurgency.

The most prominent member of al-Awda, Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abu Risha, has since helped to form the Anbar Salvation Council . A group allied to the Americans and the Iraqi government. [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FC6E5C31-9CAF-40B7-9F9F-D7818BD0B520.htm] [http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/todaysfeatures/2007/March/todaysfeatures_March27.xml&section=todaysfeatures&col]