Tikrit residents fear returning to their homes

(9 Apr 2015) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Irbil, Iraq - April 9, 2015 1. Various of internally displaced person Kais Luay watching a video on his phone inside a house in Zeitoun compound, outside Irbil 2. Luay sitting on the floor looking at his phone, with his two brothers 3. TV inside the house 4. Luay looking on his phone, TV in the background 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kais Luay, 27, internally displaced person (IDP) from Tikrit: "I can't go back to Tikrit because of the incidents we saw by the Hashdi Shabi, the destruction that was done in Tikrit. They entered the houses and after they looted them they burned them and pretended Daesh (Islamic State) did it, while Daesh is not in Tikrit anymore. Tikrit is secured from all sides." 6. Various of Luay while watching a video on his phone 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kais Luay, 27, internally displaced person (IDP) from Tikrit "Some police members were with them, not from the Hashdi Shabi, and when they entered these areas along with the Hashdi Shabi, they filmed the burned neighbourhoods. After they filmed it, they put it on Facebook and that's how I saw it." 8. Luay seen from the windows of the house sitting inside while looking at his phone 9. Exterior of Luay's house inside the compound and open gate covered with purple sheets 10. Zeitoun compound in Irbil where most residents of Tikrit reside since they fled from the Islamic State group 11. Women sitting on the pavement inside the Zeitoun compound 12. Two IDP girls playing and hugging each other 13. IDP women standing outside their house in the compound 14. Hamid Twesan entering the gate outside his house in Zeitoun compound together with his two sons 15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hamid Twesan, 49, IDP from Tikrit: "Honestly, we are far from the actual scene. We don't exactly know what's happening there but we see on TV that Hashdi Shabi has a negative impact. But we don't know if it's true or not, but as a family who is not involved with any party, we hesitate to go back." 16. IDP children playing outside on the streets inside Zeitoun compound 17. Man sitting on the ground 18. Taxi driver fixing his taxi 19. Taxi parked outside 20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Faleh Abu Sayif, 47, IDP from Tikrit: "The media show the positive and negative results of the operation, but the civilians only focus on the negative consequences. Since there are worries, all the people hesitate to go back, because when there's no force of law, when the law is absent, there will be chaos everywhere." 21. Various of Zeitoun compound STORYLINE Internally Displaced People living in Zeitoun compound, outside Irbil, fear going back to their hometown, Tikrit. 27 year old Kais Luay spends most of his day browsing his Facebook page from his temporary home in the Kurdish city, Irbil. He watches videos of Shiite militias walking through Tikrit. It's his way of keeping up to date with the developments in his hometown. Luay fled the city together with his two brothers, two sisters, parents and his wife when the Islamic State (IS) group took over in June last year. He owns a pharmacy in his hometown, but he fears it might have been looted or burned. The former hometown of Saddam Hussein was liberated from IS after weeks of bitter clashes between the Sunni extremists and Iraqi forces, together with the allied Shiite militias, who played a crucial role in the liberation of the towns. But it's that last group that Luay, who is a Sunni, like the majority of Tikrit residents, fears most. Hamid Twesan, 49, also lives in the compound. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...