[Marxism] After police arrests, Mahdi Army takes control of Iraqi city of Amara

[Fred Feldman]

7pm update 
  _____  

Shia fighters seize Iraqi city 

. Mahdi Army storm Amara
. At least 15 dead, dozens wounded
. British troops on standby

Michael Howard in Sulaimaniya and Guardian Unlimited staff 
Friday October 20, 2006


Guardian Unlimited

The Shia militia led by the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr today
seized control of the southern city of Amara in one of the boldest acts
of defiance yet by the country's powerful unofficial armies. 

Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations during the
morning, planting explosives that flattened the buildings, witnesses and
residents said.

About 800 black-clad militiamen with Kalashnikov rifles and
rocket-propelled grenades patrolled city streets in commandeered police
vehicles, while other fighters set up roadblocks on routes into the city
and sound trucks circulated telling residents to stay indoors.

At least 15 people, including five militiamen, one policeman and two
bystanders, were killed as Shia militias clashed with local police and
Iraqi security forces. The fighting wounded at least 59 people - 31
militiamen, six policemen and 22 civilians, including three children -
said Riyadh Saed, the duty physician at the city's main hospital.

The attack came as the US president, George Bush, admitted the situation
in Iraq was tough, adding that he would consult with US generals to see
if a change in tactics was necessary to combat the escalating violence.

So far this month, 74 US troops have died in Iraq, making it likely to
become the deadliest month for American forces in nearly two years.

"One of the reasons you're seeing more casualties is the enemy is active
and so are our troops, along with Iraqis," Mr Bush said.

He said he planned to have talks in the next few days with General John
Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East, and General George
Casey, who leads the US forces in Iraq.

"We are constantly adjusting our tactics so we can achieve the
objectives and right now, it's tough," Mr Bush said. "It's tough on the
families who've lost a loved one. It's tough for our citizens who look
at it on TV. It's hard on the Iraqis. They've lost a lot of life."

But he declined to say whether he thought a change in tactics was
necessary.

In response to the assault on Amara, the Iraqi government dispatched 230
troops from Basra.

British military sources in Iraq denied the city had been overrun but
described the situation as "serious".

About 500 British troops backed up by attack helicopters were reported
to be on standby. "We are ready to act if the Iraqi government so
requests," said an army spokesman.

The militiamen later withdrew from their positions and lifted their
siege of police headquarters under a temporary truce negotiated between
envoys for the government and al-Sadr. It was not clear by the afternoon
whether the security forces had reasserted control over the city.

A defence ministry spokesman said authorities had imposed a curfew in
Amara until further notice.

"All the parties have started a truce as two army companies were
dispatched from Basra," Mohammad al-Alaskari said. "But the situation is
still tense."

Amara, which has a population of 750,000, was returned to Iraqi military
control by Britain in August.

Amara resident Hossam Hussein said he saw hundreds of gunmen dressed in
the Mahdi Army's trademark black uniforms swarming the city's main
streets, warning residents to stay inside.

"For the last few days you could smell the trouble building here," he
said by phone. "Amara is a battleground between the gangs, the
terrorists, the militia and the politicians. And sometimes you don't
know who is who."

Falah Hassan Shanshal, a spokesman for the Sadrist trend in the Iraqi
parliament, denied the Mahdi Army was behind the mayhem.

"It was a natural uprising from the citizens at the huge mistakes made
by the city's police," he said.

Tensions had been rising since five men, including the brother of a
local Mahdi leader, were allegedly abducted - some say arrested - by
police on suspicion of involvement in the killing of a senior police
intelligence officer Qassim al-Tamimi, who was also a member of the
rival Badr brigade. The officer's family blamed the Mahdi Army
militiamen for the killing.

The often violent rivalry between the Mahdi and Badr militias in
southern Iraq is an increasing headache for the beleaguered government
of Nuri al-Maliki. Both groups are linked to parties inside the prime
minister's ruling Shia alliance.

Amara, a major population centre in the resource-rich yet impoverished
south, has been the home of Shia defiance to successive Iraqi regimes.
Its famed marshlands were drained by the former dictator Saddam Hussein
during the 1990s in reprisal for the city's role in the Shia uprising
that blazed through the region after the 1991 Gulf war.

The city lies along the Tigris river, just 30 miles (50km) from the
border with Iran whose Shia-controlled government is accused of backing
Iraqi militia groups suspected of involvement in sectarian killings now
wracking the country. 

Guardian Unlimited C Guardian News and Media Limited 2006