Fort Suse

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Fort Suse is the name of an Iraqi military barracks and training facility built in 1977 by Russian engineers. Fort Suse is located in Kurdish northern Iraq in the vicinity of Al-Sulamaniya.

[edit] Use as a detention facility

In 2005, the fort was converted to a detention facility capable of holding 1,700–2,000 security detainees at a cost of $8 million dollars. The conversion was done using civilian contractors under the supervision of the 20th Engineer Brigade and Task Force 134. Task Force 134 is in charge of all Multi-National Force Iraq (MNFI) detention operations in Iraq. Conversion of the fort to a detention facility, coupled with the expansion of existing facilities at Camp Bucca and Camp Cropper was part of a plan to alleviate over crowding at existing facilities, close the detention facility at Abu Ghraib and to eventually transition detention operations to the Iraqi government.

Construction began on August 3, 2005 and the facility received its first 50 detainees on October 24, 2005.

The facility was initially manned by 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division in conjunction with Iraqi prison guards. Members of the Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion (NPDB) replaced the 504th.

On December 12, 2005, Nearly 90 percent of all eligible security detainees in Multi-National Forces-Iraq Theater Internment Facilities, including those at Fort Suse, participated in the democratic vote on the Iraqi National Ballot.

On May 8, 2006, the U.S. Military announced that five security detainees had escaped from Fort Suse, the first escape from that facility. Reports blamed the escape on negligence on the part of Kurdish guards. All five detainees were later recaptured by in a joint operation by Kurdish security forces and peshmerga militiamen.

In August 2006, it was reported that all security detainees from Fort Suse would be transferred to Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca and the facility turned over to the Iraqi government on September 22, 2006.

[edit] Iraqi run prison

After its handover in September 2006, Fort Suse became an Iraqi run prison with a maximum capacity of 1,500 inmates. It received its first inmates on November 19, 2006 and now holds convicted criminals, serving their sentence after being convicted in Iraqi courts.

In October 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted a visit of Fort Suse, the first visit for that organization of an Iraqi run prison facility.