Iraq orders U.S. Blackwater employees to leave in 7 days

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi minister of interior has ordered former and current U.S. Blackwater employees to leave the country in seven days, the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV reported Wednesday.

"About 250 guards working for the security company Blackwater have been dismissed and given seven days to leave Iraq," Jawad al- Bolani was quoted as saying.

Blackwater, now called Xe Services, was a private security contractor hired to protect U.S. State Department personnel in Iraq. It was accused by the Iraqi government of using excessive force in Baghdad streets.

On Sept. 16, 2007, Blackwater guards opened fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers on unarmed Iraqi civilians at the busy Nissor Square in Baghdad after a car bomb exploded, leaving 17 people killed.

The incident happened at a time when the guards protecting U.S. embassy personnel were given immunity for prosecution in Iraqi courts. The shooting angered Iraqis who saw it as a symbol of foreigners' disregard for their lives.

The U.S. government has accused five Blackwater guards of causing the deaths of unarmed civilians. However, a U.S. judge decided in December to drop criminal charges against five Blackwater security guards who were accused in the 2007 shooting.

Iraqi officials have rejected the U.S. judge's decision and the country has started to collect signatures of the victims to sue the company.