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| Iraq |
| Sadr City assault strains cease-fire |
| 2008-04-07 |
| Sadr City, the capital's teeming Shiite district where Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army is entrenched, erupted in violence again Sunday, one week after a truce ended battles pitting Mr. Sadr's militia against US and Iraqi troops. Although sporadic clashes continued between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi forces even after the cease-fire deal, Sunday's flare-up has been the worst and threatens to undo the lull in fighting in the capital and in the southern oil city of Basra. Police sources cited by Reuters said that at least 22 people were killed and 55 wounded in the battle that started overnight. Although it's unclear what started this latest round in fighting with the Mahdi Army, the US military said it killed nine "criminals" in an assault by one of its helicopters in Sadr City. Inside the vast Shiite slum, home to roughly 2.5 million people, the situation is increasingly tense as the area's squares and apartment blocks are destroyed by Iraqi or American strikes, its streets used as Mahdi Army positions, and its residents increasingly caught in the middle of this fight. On a visit Sunday during the fighting, this reporter witnessed the devastating toll on a district that remains besieged by US and Iraqi forces. On Sunday, a convoy of US Abrams tanks and Bradley and Stryker combat vehicles patrolled at the entrance of Sadr City as dozens of Iraqi soldiers took positions on balconies. Once inside the district, people shouted, "Quick, run into the alleyways." Two artillery shells hit nearby, probably fired from the US tanks. Dust and smoke rose in the distance. A newly issued Iraqi Army Humvee emblazoned with the Iraqi flag was on fire farther down the road. One of the teenagers milling around said: "This belongs to the dirty bunch." Deeper into Sadr City, it was militia territory. Young militants were everywhere. They carried sniper rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They were on street corners and rooftops ready to fend off any advance by US and Iraqi forces. "Watch the [US] airplanes Â… they are killing civilians and civilians are everywhere," shouted a fighter dressed in military fatigues. Every now and then, a civilian shouted: "Raise your hands in the air Two fighters ran out. "They have just struck the home of Abu Rahman, and they killed three members of his family," said one. A man who appeared to be the leader of this group hugged the fighter, and they both broke out in tears. "No, they were not killed," said the presumed leader. "I saw their blood with my own eyes," responded the fighter. The offices of Sadr's movement offered relative safety. The muezzin in a nearby mosque was already calling for the noon prayers. Inside, fighters prayed. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 When I first read it, I assumed it to be written by a foreign paper and that the computer had translated it. Probably because it was written by a stringer: Awadh al-Taiee - Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor And there's this tidbit from 2005: "Awadh al-Taie is a trainee journalist with IWPR in Baghdad ...The Institute for War & Peace Reporting is a London-based independent non-profit organisation supporting regional media and democratic change." Its list of supporters is here. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-04-07 19:32 |
| #13 REUTERS [paraph] > VIDEO: SADR WILL DISBAND MEHDI ARMY IF CLERICS ORDER IT. But whatzabout the MAHDI ARMY, which may explain TOPIX > MAHDI ARMY MILITANTS PROMISE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-04-07 19:27 |
| #12 Per Video. Wasn't John Kerry in the Navy? He should be in a boat not a helicopter..... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-04-07 15:15 |
| #11 Set it on "rubbleize", boys. |
| Posted by: Chief Running Gag 2008-04-07 14:22 |
| #10 Movie War - this is the one the press seems to think is going on. Not the one we are fighting. Easy, ya just don't lead them so much. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-04-07 13:59 |
| #9 Assault strains cease-fire? Gawd, that's funny stuff. I actually choked on my coffee. Didn't the Christian Science Monitor used to be, like, a newspaper and stuff? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-04-07 12:33 |
| #8 Civilians should be smart enough to flee this kind of fighting... Anyone that runs, is a VC. Anyone that doesn't run, is a well disciplined VC! - Full Metal Jacket |
| Posted by: Mad Eye Short3739 2008-04-07 12:06 |
| #7 Civilians should be smart enough to flee this kind of fighting even if it means life in a refugee camp. If they don't flee they're either not civilians or else they're making themselves eligible for Darwin awards. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque (aka Ebbang Uluque6305) 2008-04-07 12:01 |
| #6 This seems like it was a much longer article with both narrative buildup and then narrative detail but the editor cut it way back and left most of the former and little of the latter. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-04-07 11:01 |
| #5 Deeper into Sadr City, it was militia territory. Young militants were everywhere. They carried sniper rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They were on street corners and rooftops ready to fend off any advance by US and Iraqi forces. "Watch the [US] airplanes Â… they are killing civilians and civilians are everywhere," shouted a fighter dressed in military fatigues. Well, Ahwad, think maybe this might have something to do with your "young militants" being everywhere and hiding behind them? This is Hideki Yamashita live from Iwo Jima. Back to you Katie... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-07 09:16 |
| #4 I don't think the Govt. ever agreed to any ceasefire. That was Mookie. So I really don't think they're worried about breaking it. Game on! |
| Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Shavirt5970 2008-04-07 08:17 |
| #3 By Awadh al-Taiee Who in the WW2 generation doesn't remember picking up the morning paper and reading tear jerking dispatches from guys name Gunter? |
| Posted by: ed 2008-04-07 06:14 |
| #2 Two artillery shells hit nearby, probably fired from the US tanks. Unless the reporter's mistaking mobile artillery pieces for tanks, I call bullshit. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2008-04-07 05:49 |
| #1 heh. This is written by the Christian Science Monitor. When I first read it, I assumed it to be written by a foreign paper and that the computer had translated it. The sentences don't flow together and the quotes are just hanging out there all by themselves. |
| Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967 2008-04-07 04:52 |