Bitter times in Iraq's orange capital

[Barrett808]

Bitter times in Iraq's orange capital
by Sam Dagher

JDAIDET AL-AGHAWAT, Iraq (AFP) - Amid orange orchards, date palms and fields full of blooming sunflowers, some 150 Iraqis huddle in a rundown village school as they seek refuge from a daily staple of bloodshed and threats.

"They slaughtered my friend like a sheep," said Haidar Abdel Salam, 25, explaining why he and eight family members fled their home in the Qatun neighborhood of Baquba, capital of Diyala province east of Baghdad, after seeing neighbours executed simply for being Shiite Muslim.

With all eyes on the violence in Baghdad and in a country where death is served like daily bread, there is little focus on events in places such as Diyala, which has a population of 1.3 million and shares a border with Iran to the east.

With both the Tigris and Diyala rivers running through a lush land filled with green fields and orchards, Diyala is quite a contrast to the arid provinces around it.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060721/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestdisplaceddiyala