Saturday, October 14, 2006
Basrah residents want Brits out
Security
Many Shiites in Basra say they want British troops to leave, though the region is still bloodied by a persistent grind of killings, including Sunni insurgent bombings and Shiite-on-Shiite slayings amid a competition for political control. Several prominent Basra leaders on Friday agreed with an assessment by Britain's army chief that the British presence only worsens the violence and the soldiers should withdraw soon. Gen. Richard Dannatt backpedaled Friday from the comments he made in an interview a day earlier, saying he meant troops should leave within years, but the statements caused a political storm in Britain.
In Basra, Shiites insist the British presence only provides a target for attackers seeking to end the "occupation", and some said the troops are doing nothing to rein in party-backed Shiite militias that have risen to prominence. The central government in Baghdad underlined on Friday that it wants U.S. and British troops to remain, saying they are needed to contain the violence and train Iraqi forces.
The predominantly Shiite south has long been less violent than Baghdad and the Sunni regions of central and western Iraq, where the anti-U.S. insurgency has been based. But there has still been steady bloodshed, and it has increased this year with the swelling of sectarian killings across the country. Basra province, home to about 3 million people, where most of the 7,000 British troops are based, sees a constant toll of bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
They come in part from Sunni insurgent attacks against British troops and Iraqi civilians with bombings, mortars and rocket fire. But increasingly the area has seen killings between Shiites as party-backed militias vie for influence. Shiite militias also intimidate residents, enforcing strict Islamic laws in some districts, such as banning haircuts seen as Western, forcing women to wear the veil and closing video and music shops.
In Basra, Shiites insist the British presence only provides a target for attackers seeking to end the "occupation", and some said the troops are doing nothing to rein in party-backed Shiite militias that have risen to prominence. The central government in Baghdad underlined on Friday that it wants U.S. and British troops to remain, saying they are needed to contain the violence and train Iraqi forces.
The predominantly Shiite south has long been less violent than Baghdad and the Sunni regions of central and western Iraq, where the anti-U.S. insurgency has been based. But there has still been steady bloodshed, and it has increased this year with the swelling of sectarian killings across the country. Basra province, home to about 3 million people, where most of the 7,000 British troops are based, sees a constant toll of bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
They come in part from Sunni insurgent attacks against British troops and Iraqi civilians with bombings, mortars and rocket fire. But increasingly the area has seen killings between Shiites as party-backed militias vie for influence. Shiite militias also intimidate residents, enforcing strict Islamic laws in some districts, such as banning haircuts seen as Western, forcing women to wear the veil and closing video and music shops.
