2013 Hawija clashes

The 2013 Hawija clashes relate to a series of violent attacks within Iraq, as part of the 2012–13 Iraqi protests and Iraqi insurgency post-U.S. withdrawal. On April 23, an army raid against a protest encampment in the city of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, led to dozens of civilian deaths and the involvement of several insurgent groups in organized action against the government, leading to fears of a return to a wide-scale Sunni-Shia conflict within the country. By April 27, more than 300 people were reported killed and scores more injured in one of the worst outbreaks of violence since the U.S. withdrawal in December 2011.