The residents of Anbar in the west and Ninevah in the northwest — the major strongholds of Sunnis in Iraq — have been practicing civil disobedience since midnight Sunday, April 21, to protest Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's describing them as “insurgents.” The preachers from mosques in the Sunni areas of the Iraqi capital Baghdad and in Diyala province have called on residents to fast from dawn until dusk throughout the duration of the civil disobedience.

Al-Monitor’s reporter noted that Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, was a ghostly city during the early hours of the morning. Not a passerby was seen in the streets, shops were all closed and only key officials reported to governmental institutions. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that in the city of Mosul, the capital of Ninevah, the daily activity of residents nearly ceased, while the markets and shops were closed.

On the streets of Ramadi, banners encouraging people to engage in civil disobedience were distributed everywhere. Some of the slogans read: “Our civil disobedience is our dignity,” and “Our civil disobedience unifies us.”

Iyad al-Nayif, the spokesman for what is known as “the coordinating councils for the popular movement in Anbar” said to Al-Monitor that “95% of public and private assets were frozen in Ramadi, Fallujah, Hit, Hadith and al-Qaim in Anbar province as part of the civil disobedience that started on Monday.”