Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Times Online:

Iraqi soldiers and police are preparing to push deeper into Sadr City in an ambitious move that could either bring order to the notorious Baghdad Shia slum or create an even deadlier battlefield.

Commanders have been meeting to work out a plan of action, while residents inside the impoverished district of some 2 million brace themselves for the worst.

The Government’s main Shia bloc formerly signed a ceasefire two days ago with supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the cleric who commands al-Mahdi Army, Iraq’s largest Shia militia. The deal is aimed at ending seven weeks of fighting between US and Iraqi forces and Shia militants, but it has already been undermined by ongoing clashes.

The spokesman for Iraqi forces in Baghdad insisted today that the truce still stands.

“We expect our brothers in the Sadr bloc to help our forces implement the agreement,” said Major-General Qassim Mousawi. He added: “Some centres will be opened to offer money to those who hand over guns willingly.”

Under the ceasefire deal, Iraqi forces will be allowed for the first time to fan out across all of Sadr City, al-Mahdi Army’s Baghdad stronghold, to impose the law and ensure that militiamen have surrendered medium and heavy weapons. It is unclear when this push past the southern sector, which US and Iraqi forces already control, will happen but it could come as early as tomorrow.

Al-Mahdi Army commanders indicated that Iraqi soldiers will encounter no resistance provided that they are not accompanied by US troops.

“I think they should enter according to the conditions of the agreement and also be accompanied by a committee of MPs,” said Abu Baqir, a senior commander.

“I will not fight because I will obey the orders of Moqtada,” he told Times Online.

A second commander, Abu Hussein, agreed, though he warned: “I will fight if the American troops enter with the Iraqi forces.”

Inside Sadr City, a warren of narrow streets, ramshackle houses and litter, the atmosphere is tense as families wait to see what will happen.

The area has been a warzone since US and Iraqi forces took over the southern quarter at the end of March in a bid to stop Shia militants from firing rockets at the fortified Green Zone, which houses Government offices and foreign embassies.

Day and night, US aircraft target militiamen as they plant roadside bombs, while ground forces battle gunmen on the streets or snipers hiding in buildings, prompting families to move or hide indoors.

Many roads and shops are closed, people are afraid to go to work, children have stopped going to school and essential services, such as water, electricity and health care are effectively non-existent. Food is also in short supply.

Only one entrance remains open into Sadr City and it is heavily guarded, admitting only a few limited vehicles, while allowing cars to leave.

One resident, Ahmad al-Atwani, an estate agent, said: “When the operation started we thought it would eliminate the militants and allow us to live in peace again, but it feels like they are targeting civilians. We feel under siege.”

A second local, Um Malik said that she lost her eldest son two weeks ago when a US attack helicopter dropped a missile on a building where militants had just launched three rockets.

“He was not a member of al-Mahdi Army. So many people in Sadr City have been killed by mistake,” the 39-year-old nurse said.

Both Mr Atwani and Um Malik doubt that the Iraqi Army will defeat the militia. The nurse said: “A big fight will start if they arrest just one al-Mahdi Army leader.”

The Sadr City operation began after Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, launched a surprise offensive in the southern city of Basra, another al-Mahdi Army bastion. The offensive sparked fighting across the south up to Baghdad.

Basra, a vital oil hub that was under the control of the British military following the invasion, is largely peaceful now. It remains to be seen what will happen to Sadr City, where US forces say that many of the militants belong to breakaway al-Mahdi Army groups backed by Iran that no longer heed the orders of Moqtada al-Sadr.