Prakosh
10-20-2006, 12:39 PM
I guess when Militias begin seizing control of cities in various parts of the country we finally have what most would call a civil war in Iraq. Or not??
Shiite Militia Seizes Control of City in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Oct. 20) - The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by the country's powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.
A British military official said 25 gunmen and police were killed during gunbattles in the city of about 750,000.
Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, planting explosives that flattened the buildings, residents said.
About 800 black-clad militiamen with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were patrolling city streets in commandeered police vehicles, eyewitnesses said. Other fighters had set up roadblocks on routes into the city and sound trucks circulated telling residents to stay indoors.
The fighting broke out as the United States acknowledged it's military drive to crush violence in Baghad had largely failed and only days after sectarian killings raged through the region around Balad, killing about 100 people.
Americans had only returned the Balad area, just north of Baghdad, to the control of the Iraqi army in August. About the same time, British forces turned over control of Amarah to Iraqi security forces.
Thick black smoke billowed from behind the barricades of a police station. Much of the smoke came from vehicles set on fire inside the compound. Hooded gunmen roamed the streets. Some streets were entirely deserted except for the gunmen, but children were playing in others, pointing in the direction of gunfire.
The militiamen later withdrew from their positions and lifted their siege of police headquarters under a temporary truce negotiated with an al-Sadr envoy. It wasn't clear on Friday afternoon whether security forces had reasserted control over the city.
British military spokesman Maj. Charlie Burbridge said 600 Iraqi army soldiers had retaken control of the city, but not before the 25 gunmen and police were killed in violence that began Thursday night.
"They've applied a solution and at the moment it's holding," Burbridge said. "At the moment, it's tense but calm," he said.
Britain had 500 soldiers on standby if called for, Burbridge said, saying British military authorities were "confident that they've (Iraqi security forces) responded as best as they can."
Shiite militia violence, mainly against the country's Sunni minority, has ravaged Iraq since February when a Shiite holy place in Samara was blown up. The violence has been on the increase, but this is the first recent fighting that has pitted Shiites against one another on such a scale.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched an emergency security delegation that included the Minister of State for Security Affairs and top officials from the Interior and Defense ministries, said Yassin Majid, the prime minister's media adviser told the Associated Press. Al-Sadr representatives had rushed Amarah from the holy city of Najaf to the north.
The fighting came just days after al-Maliki met with al-Sadr at the cleric's headquarters in the holy city of Najaf to enlist support for reining in sectarian violence and building politcal stability.
The timing seemed to indicate al-Sadr and other Mahdi Army commanders did not have full control over individual units, lending weight to that many such militia groups were acting on their own and carrying out local agendas.
The events in Amarah highlight the threat of wider violence between rival Shiite factions, who have entrenched themselves among the majority Shiite population and are blamed for killings of rival Sunnis.
Read Lots More in the Full Gory Story (articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/shiite-militia-seizes-control-of-city-in/20061020073409990003?cid=2194)
Shiite Militia Seizes Control of City in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Oct. 20) - The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by the country's powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.
A British military official said 25 gunmen and police were killed during gunbattles in the city of about 750,000.
Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, planting explosives that flattened the buildings, residents said.
About 800 black-clad militiamen with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were patrolling city streets in commandeered police vehicles, eyewitnesses said. Other fighters had set up roadblocks on routes into the city and sound trucks circulated telling residents to stay indoors.
The fighting broke out as the United States acknowledged it's military drive to crush violence in Baghad had largely failed and only days after sectarian killings raged through the region around Balad, killing about 100 people.
Americans had only returned the Balad area, just north of Baghdad, to the control of the Iraqi army in August. About the same time, British forces turned over control of Amarah to Iraqi security forces.
Thick black smoke billowed from behind the barricades of a police station. Much of the smoke came from vehicles set on fire inside the compound. Hooded gunmen roamed the streets. Some streets were entirely deserted except for the gunmen, but children were playing in others, pointing in the direction of gunfire.
The militiamen later withdrew from their positions and lifted their siege of police headquarters under a temporary truce negotiated with an al-Sadr envoy. It wasn't clear on Friday afternoon whether security forces had reasserted control over the city.
British military spokesman Maj. Charlie Burbridge said 600 Iraqi army soldiers had retaken control of the city, but not before the 25 gunmen and police were killed in violence that began Thursday night.
"They've applied a solution and at the moment it's holding," Burbridge said. "At the moment, it's tense but calm," he said.
Britain had 500 soldiers on standby if called for, Burbridge said, saying British military authorities were "confident that they've (Iraqi security forces) responded as best as they can."
Shiite militia violence, mainly against the country's Sunni minority, has ravaged Iraq since February when a Shiite holy place in Samara was blown up. The violence has been on the increase, but this is the first recent fighting that has pitted Shiites against one another on such a scale.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched an emergency security delegation that included the Minister of State for Security Affairs and top officials from the Interior and Defense ministries, said Yassin Majid, the prime minister's media adviser told the Associated Press. Al-Sadr representatives had rushed Amarah from the holy city of Najaf to the north.
The fighting came just days after al-Maliki met with al-Sadr at the cleric's headquarters in the holy city of Najaf to enlist support for reining in sectarian violence and building politcal stability.
The timing seemed to indicate al-Sadr and other Mahdi Army commanders did not have full control over individual units, lending weight to that many such militia groups were acting on their own and carrying out local agendas.
The events in Amarah highlight the threat of wider violence between rival Shiite factions, who have entrenched themselves among the majority Shiite population and are blamed for killings of rival Sunnis.
Read Lots More in the Full Gory Story (articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/shiite-militia-seizes-control-of-city-in/20061020073409990003?cid=2194)