Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Boston Globe
June 17, 2008 But warn Iraq on illegal arrests, other violations
By Kim Gamel, Associated Press
BAGHDAD - Followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr signaled yesterday that they would not resist a military crackdown in one of their last southern strongholds unless government troops make arrests without warrants or commit other violations.
The statements came three days before the expiration of a deadline for gunmen in the Sadrist stronghold of Amarah, capital of Maysan Province, to surrender their weapons and renounce violence or face harsh measures.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shi'ite, has sent US-backed Iraqi troops to Amarah, a stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and the purported center of weapons smuggling from Iran. The bid to clamp control on the city follows similar efforts in the Shi'ite areas of Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City and the northern Sunni insurgent bastion of Mosul.
Iraqi troops have fanned out en masse in the Tigris River city of some 450,000 people, 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, erecting new checkpoints and stationing tanks and Humvees on bridges in preparation for the operation.
But no fighting has been reported, in contrast to the fierce resistance that met the start of a government offensive in late March in Basra. That fighting spread to Sadr City before the cleric announced a series of cease-fires.
The Sadrist governor of Maysan Province said local officials have expressed their support for "the imposing law operation," to begin later this week.
But Governor Adel Mhodir also warned against "human rights violations during the raids or cases of arrests without warrants," a complaint among Sadrists who accuse the government of unfairly targeting their movement nationwide.
"There is agreement among all the parties and blocs, including al-Sadr's office, on the necessity of imposing the law . . . yet the rights of the citizens should be preserved while this operation is implemented," Mhodir added in a statement on the provincial government's website.
A Sadr aide in the holy city of Najaf also said the movement "has no problem with the government's efforts to impose law and order in Maysan and in all of Iraq."
But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive topic, said the group would draw the line at what it deems unfair arrests.
"We have no objection to the demilitarization of Amarah, but we have some reservations that human rights violations might occur and that the operation will only target the Sadrists as if they are the only party that has weapons in Amarah," the official said.
It was unclear how the Sadrists would react if Iraqi security forces begin mass arrests. But US and Iraqi commanders say senior militia leaders already have fled the area to neighboring Iran, leaving only rank-and-file fighters behind.
Sadr's main office in Amarah was evacuated and turned over peacefully to the local government Sunday, a provincial spokesman said, also declining to be identified because of security concerns.
Sadrists have complained that their Shi'ite rivals in the government are trying to weaken the cleric's populist movement ahead of provincial elections expected in the fall.
Sadr has announced in recent days that he will divide his militia into fighting and political units - an apparent bid to get around a possible election ban on parties with militias.
Signaling continued tensions in the Shi'ite south, a US soldier was killed yesterday by a roadside bomb southeast of Hillah, the military said. At least 4,099 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
June 17, 2008 But warn Iraq on illegal arrests, other violations
By Kim Gamel, Associated Press
BAGHDAD - Followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr signaled yesterday that they would not resist a military crackdown in one of their last southern strongholds unless government troops make arrests without warrants or commit other violations.
The statements came three days before the expiration of a deadline for gunmen in the Sadrist stronghold of Amarah, capital of Maysan Province, to surrender their weapons and renounce violence or face harsh measures.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shi'ite, has sent US-backed Iraqi troops to Amarah, a stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and the purported center of weapons smuggling from Iran. The bid to clamp control on the city follows similar efforts in the Shi'ite areas of Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City and the northern Sunni insurgent bastion of Mosul.
Iraqi troops have fanned out en masse in the Tigris River city of some 450,000 people, 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, erecting new checkpoints and stationing tanks and Humvees on bridges in preparation for the operation.
But no fighting has been reported, in contrast to the fierce resistance that met the start of a government offensive in late March in Basra. That fighting spread to Sadr City before the cleric announced a series of cease-fires.
The Sadrist governor of Maysan Province said local officials have expressed their support for "the imposing law operation," to begin later this week.
But Governor Adel Mhodir also warned against "human rights violations during the raids or cases of arrests without warrants," a complaint among Sadrists who accuse the government of unfairly targeting their movement nationwide.
"There is agreement among all the parties and blocs, including al-Sadr's office, on the necessity of imposing the law . . . yet the rights of the citizens should be preserved while this operation is implemented," Mhodir added in a statement on the provincial government's website.
A Sadr aide in the holy city of Najaf also said the movement "has no problem with the government's efforts to impose law and order in Maysan and in all of Iraq."
But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive topic, said the group would draw the line at what it deems unfair arrests.
"We have no objection to the demilitarization of Amarah, but we have some reservations that human rights violations might occur and that the operation will only target the Sadrists as if they are the only party that has weapons in Amarah," the official said.
It was unclear how the Sadrists would react if Iraqi security forces begin mass arrests. But US and Iraqi commanders say senior militia leaders already have fled the area to neighboring Iran, leaving only rank-and-file fighters behind.
Sadr's main office in Amarah was evacuated and turned over peacefully to the local government Sunday, a provincial spokesman said, also declining to be identified because of security concerns.
Sadrists have complained that their Shi'ite rivals in the government are trying to weaken the cleric's populist movement ahead of provincial elections expected in the fall.
Sadr has announced in recent days that he will divide his militia into fighting and political units - an apparent bid to get around a possible election ban on parties with militias.
Signaling continued tensions in the Shi'ite south, a US soldier was killed yesterday by a roadside bomb southeast of Hillah, the military said. At least 4,099 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.