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Iraq army claims in full sway of Basra - Bogged down, Quagmire
A month after Iraqi troops poured into the southern city of Basra to take on militiamen who had overrun five neighbourhoods, the government claims to have regained control of the streets."All areas of Basra are under the command of the security forces," interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said on Thursday. "There are no areas under the control of armed men. Iraqi police are deployed in all Basra streets," he said. Many residents reported they feel safer as a measure of normality has returned to the oil-rich city with the reopening of markets and the resumption of basic services. The tide of fundamentalism which swept into the city with the Shiite militiamen who tried to force their brand of Islam onto local residents has been rolled back. Music stores have reopened, with US movies, cassettes and CDs on the shelves for the first time in years as residents again hold parties now that alcohol is once more available, albeit surreptitiously. Schools in Basra reopened on April 6 and to make up for lost days, children are attending classes on Saturdays. Universities and colleges started again on April 20. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the crackdown on March 25, vowing to rid Basra of "lawless gunmen" and personally took charge of the assault, codenamed Operation Sawlat Al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights).  At least 700 people were killed as Shiite militiamen, most of them loyalists of radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, battled the police and troops who raided their strongholds, according to United Nations figures. The fierce fighting which marked the first week of the operation has given way to slower, more focused house-by-house searches by Iraqi troops - mainly in areas dominated by Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen.A similar operation is under way in Sadr City, the Mahdi Army's eastern Baghdad bastion, where militiamen have been battling US and Iraqi troops in earnest since April 6. More than 360 people have been killed in the fighting, which is still continuing. Residents of Basra have generally welcomed the crackdown. "Thanks to Sawlat Al-Fursan, our stores are back to life again," said music shop owner Jassim al-Zuberi. "We have also been attending parties again," he added. "After the fall of the (Saddam Hussein) regime, we were able for about six months to open our music stores and to play music at weddings and private parties," he said. "But then we were threatened and forced to close our shops. Some music store owners changed their focus to decorating cars for weddings." Nahla Jawad, a local headmistress, said a sense of security now prevailed. "There are no armed men in the streets and the guns are in the hands of the government which is a good thing," she said. "We have a sense at last of a democracy." The city of 1.6 million people is by no means functioning normally; the streets are still flooded with troops, innumerable checkpoints snarl the traffic and residents are scared to go out at night. Markets have reopened but owners complain that customers are not spending because many had stocked up with vast quantities of supplies during the fighting. Most shops are closed by 7.00 pm (1600 GMT) instead of keeping the very late hours they did before March 25. Residents expressed uneasiness at seeing foreign troops in the streets -- US special forces have been working alongside Iraqi soldiers during the crackdown. British forces also moved outside their base at Basra airport although they took no part in the fighting beyond providing logistic, air and artillery support. "Everybody feels happy that the law is being imposed but the deployment of US forces will make trouble once again; we don't want to see foreign forces in our streets," Economic and Management College student Entissar Ahmed said. The Iraqi security operations have not been without severe problems, and earlier this month 1,300 police and soldiers were sacked for desertion, refusing to fight or for failing to perform their duties. Ali Ghedan, commander of Iraqi ground forces in Basra, said many arms and ammunitions caches had been discovered during the raids. "Many gunmen however threw their arms in the river and some buried them in public squares." Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-04-27 |
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