A number of Arab tribes demanded on Saturday that US troops be deployed in the Iraqi province of Nineveh, reported the German news agency (dpa). They said that the forces should be deployed in disputed areas, stressing their rejection that these troops be targeted by Iranian-backed factions. A spokesman for the tribes in Nineveh, Mzahem al-Hweit, told dpa: “We welcome the deployment of the American forces in all regions, especially disputed ones.” “The sides that are threatening to combat US forces in Iraq are backed by Iran and they seek to spark sectarian strife in Iraq and the disputes areas,” he continued. “The presence of US and peshmerga forces in Nineveh will make the Arabs there feel safe,” he explained. “There is no security under the control of sectarian militias,” stressed Hweit. Hajj Ghazi Aziz, a member of the Arab tribes in Nineveh, said: “The Arabs in Ninevh reject the targeting any forces, especially US ones. In fact, we demand their deployment because we want security and not false slogans that are made at the cost of our lives.” “We demand the deployment of US forces in our regions alongside the Iraqi army, not Iranian-backed militias that treat the Arab Sunnis and other members of the population with sectarianism and discrimination,” he said.