Sunni Muslim fighters yesterday clashed with Iraqi troops trying to regain control of two western cities, in a serious escalation of their confrontation with the Shi’ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Tension has been running high in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar since Iraqi police broke up a Sunni protest camp on Monday, leaving at least 13 people dead.

Thousands of anti-government tribal fighters took over local government buildings in the two main cities, Falluja and Ramadi, on Wednesday after the army pulled back in an attempt to calm the situation.

If another force will be sent, we are ready for them

Fighting broke out yesterday, tribal leaders and security officials said, when the army tried to re-enter the cities.

“The tribesmen are now fighting the army. What is the army doing in our city and why did they come?” Sheikh Adnan al-Mehana, the head of one of the biggest tribes in Anbar, asked from Ramadi by telephone.

“Today, we defeated the army and if another force will be sent, we are ready for them,” he said.

Eyewitnesses said tribal fighters had formed a new group known as the Tribal Revolutionaries. They placed snipers on the tops of houses overlooking the highway leading to Ramadi after evacuating them to prevent the army from coming back.

“There are heavily reinforced troops who were sent (by Baghdad), and the tribesmen are now deployed around the city to fight these troops and cut off their way,” said a prominent tribal sheikh who declined to be named. We cannot let this army enter our cities. They are (Shi’ite) militias, not a national army, and they are loyal to Maliki, not to the Iraqi people.”

Local security officials said the tribal snipers had so far kept the army troops away and forced them to retreat.