We are blood givers ... that's why the Iraqi tribes became the most prominent players in the protests

Tribes in Iraq have long been a balancing act between the street and power for decades. But when the state is absent, and blood is flowing in anti-power protests in the country, every Iraqi returns to his clan that raises the slogan "We are the guardians of blood."

With its laws, customs, customs and traditions that no one can evade, and the quantities of weapons it possesses, the clans are today among the most prominent players.

Demonstrations continue in Baghdad and the governorates of the south of the country against the government, during which protesters set fire to a large number of government institutions and party headquarters to protest against corruption and lack of services.

In a country of about 60% of its population under 25 years of age and three quarters of them living in cities, "many Iraqis in the south of the country have split from their tribal identity" in recent years, says writer Philip Smith of the Washington Institute for Research.

But Smith notes that these ties were strengthened today along the lines of every sensitive stage in Iraq. When chaos prevailed recently in the city of Nasiriyah in the south by a decision of a brigade sent by Baghdad to "impose order," tribal fighters were the ones who cut off the road to security reinforcements.

They stopped the bloodbath in the governorate in which 97 people were killed, according to medical sources, most of whom were young demonstrators who were shot dead in the city of Nasiriyah, the hometown of resigned Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

The parents
The ongoing violence since the start of the anti-government protests on the first of last October killed more than 450 people and injured more than twenty thousand.

"It is the tribes that contributed to finding solutions to the crisis, and the politicians did not move a finger," says Sheikh Qaisar al-Husaynawi of the Husaynat tribe in Nasiriyah.

One hundred families have already lodged a complaint against the military commander, Major General Jamil al-Shammari, who led the crackdown in Nasiriyah, and these families have enjoyed the support of the tribes.

In a country where the "blood money" is still far from the official judicial channels, but rather comes as a result of an agreement and a "separation session" between the clans, the sheikhs of Nasiriyah today stand beside the families of the victims of the repression, demanding retribution for those who caused the deaths.

The al-Shammari clan disavowed her son, Maj. Gen. al-Mafsoul, instead of defending him.

To this day, clans still intervene to reduce violence, even though they have a long history of resistance, especially in 1920 when they had a decisive role in independence against British colonialism.

If she is forced to bear arms, the police - who have been standing for two months in the face of the demonstrations - confirm that they would prefer to withdraw from the confrontation, because they believe that "the state will not be able to protect its men from tribal law."

Tribes have always been the key to returning to calm on several occasions, because their men are everywhere, among the demonstrators, the police, and the government.

This became a strength for the tribes in consolidating their political and economic gains, in one of the world's richest countries in oil, which is nurtured by patronage.

Rent the clan
Nicholas Heras, a researcher at the I New American Security Center, said that the tribes today are seeking to renegotiate the "social contract."

In the oil city of Basra, located to the far south of Iraq, tribes routinely pretend with their weapon, sometimes heavy, to obtain jobs and commissions from oil companies, Iraqi or foreign. But the crisis this time is deeper.

Heras notes that "the wrath of the tribes is directed today to officials in Baghdad accused of not abiding by their side of the social contract," which stipulates that "the sheikh of the clan be a channel of resources for members of his clan, in exchange for giving him absolute loyalty."

But amid dying infrastructure and lack of resources, the state is unable to respond to the demands of the clans.

Smith says that if the authorities succeed again in "meeting the interests and needs" of the various tribes, the relationship can be revived, but the task is huge because "many bridges have been cut off."

And he adds that "the job is not enough to buy people who are heavier with corruption in institutions and poor management of the state." He concluded by saying, "We must not forget anything, which is that a clan can never be bought, but can be rented."