Monday, April 30, 2007
Basra miltias prepare to battle for power
Security
(Azzaman) - Rival factions in the southern city of Basra have mobilized their armed militias for what many residents expect to be a ferocious fight over control of the provincial council. Residents are hoarding essentials with sporadic clashes between the factions intensifying in the past three days in which various weapons were used.
As armed groups fortify positions in major streets and amid heavily populated areas the occupying British troops charged with security have so far shown little concern. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not move a finger to contain the spiral of violence in the city which could easily spread to other areas.
The Basra Islamic Front, an umbrella for five Islamist groups, is reported to have deployed nearly 7,000 armed men in the city in a bid to force current governor Mohammed al-Waili to quit. Waili belongs to the rival Fadhila faction whose armed men are guarding the governor’s headquarters in the city and vowing to fight off the attackers.
Basra is the capital of the predominantly Muslim Shiite province of the same name. There are fears that the growing tension may adversely affect the country’s oil output. Basra oil fields are crucial to the country’s exports with output form the northern oil fields of Kirkuk shrinking. The Fadhila party of governor Waili is reported to be in control of Iraq’s Southern Oil Company which administers the province’s oil output. Fadhila supporters hold key positions in the industry and analysts say the current feud is more over control of oil than the provincial council.
As armed groups fortify positions in major streets and amid heavily populated areas the occupying British troops charged with security have so far shown little concern. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not move a finger to contain the spiral of violence in the city which could easily spread to other areas.
The Basra Islamic Front, an umbrella for five Islamist groups, is reported to have deployed nearly 7,000 armed men in the city in a bid to force current governor Mohammed al-Waili to quit. Waili belongs to the rival Fadhila faction whose armed men are guarding the governor’s headquarters in the city and vowing to fight off the attackers.
Basra is the capital of the predominantly Muslim Shiite province of the same name. There are fears that the growing tension may adversely affect the country’s oil output. Basra oil fields are crucial to the country’s exports with output form the northern oil fields of Kirkuk shrinking. The Fadhila party of governor Waili is reported to be in control of Iraq’s Southern Oil Company which administers the province’s oil output. Fadhila supporters hold key positions in the industry and analysts say the current feud is more over control of oil than the provincial council.
Labels: Basra, Basra Islamic Front, Fadhela party, militias, Mohammed al-Waili, oil, provincial counsil, Southern Oil Company
Monday, April 23, 2007
Hundreds of Fadhila supporters demonstrate against Sadrists
Security, Politics
(International Herald Tribune) - For the second time this week, a demonstration was held in southern Iraq on Saturday underlying the fierce rivalry between two Shiite groups vying for influence as Britain prepares to reduce its forces in the region. Hundreds of supporters of the Shiite Fadhila party gathered in the southern city of Nasiriyah to protest a demonstration that 3,000 Iraqis believed to be followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had held earlier this week in Basra to demand the resignation of its provincial governor because of poor city services and alleged corruption in that southern city, Iraq's second largest.
Fighters allied with al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Fadhila party often clash with one another in mostly Shiite southern Iraq, and last month a dozen people were wounded in such fighting. Saturday's Fadhila protesters issued a statement defending Basra Gov. Mohammed al-Waili, a Fadhila member, and warning his opponents to back down. "We will hold demonstrations, sit-ins and confrontations, if needed," the statement said.
Al-Waili has said he fears that demonstrators plan to storm his office and kill him, then take control of government banks and a state-run oil company in the oil-rich Basra region. On Tuesday, Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Shiite Hassan Kazemi Qomi, went to the holy Shiite city of Najaf in southern Iraq and met with Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yaqoubi, the spiritual leader of the Fadhila party, in an apparent effort to reduce tensions in the Basra area.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani also have urged Shiite religious and political leaders in southern Iraq to ban demonstrations in an effort to keep the area calm as it passes through a difficult period of transition.
Fighters allied with al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Fadhila party often clash with one another in mostly Shiite southern Iraq, and last month a dozen people were wounded in such fighting. Saturday's Fadhila protesters issued a statement defending Basra Gov. Mohammed al-Waili, a Fadhila member, and warning his opponents to back down. "We will hold demonstrations, sit-ins and confrontations, if needed," the statement said.
Al-Waili has said he fears that demonstrators plan to storm his office and kill him, then take control of government banks and a state-run oil company in the oil-rich Basra region. On Tuesday, Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Shiite Hassan Kazemi Qomi, went to the holy Shiite city of Najaf in southern Iraq and met with Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yaqoubi, the spiritual leader of the Fadhila party, in an apparent effort to reduce tensions in the Basra area.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani also have urged Shiite religious and political leaders in southern Iraq to ban demonstrations in an effort to keep the area calm as it passes through a difficult period of transition.
Labels: Fadhela party, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yaqoubi, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Mahdi Army, Mohammed al-Waili, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Nasiriyah
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Central authority in Basra falls to gunmen and militias
Security
(Azzaman) - The southern city of Basra lacks central authority with gunmen and militias of various factions dominating its streets. The provincial council seems to have even lost control of the security forces supposed to reinstate stability and peace in the city with reports of an unidentified battalion commander of emergency troops threatening to overthrow current governor Mohammed al-Waili.
Waili is said to have asked members of the Fadhila party to defend him against a possible coup and large-scale demonstrations to oust him. The protest is said to be organized by supporters of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr but one of his aides, Nassar al-Rubai denied his movement had called for “any demonstrations anywhere in Iraq.”
“The central authority is non-existent in Basra and there is a terrifying presence of gunmen on the streets,” warned Wail Abdulrahman, a member of parliament representing one of Basra’s constituencies. Abdulrahman, a former Basra governor, said, “There are so many armed groups in the city and no one knows their affiliations. Basra may fall as a province for any reason any time. This is a regrettable situation.”
Basra is the capital of a province of the same name and safeguarding security is still the responsibility of British occupation troops.’ But the troops are apparently huddled in their barracks and afraid to engage the fighters. Most of Iraq’s oil exports originate in the province’s oil fields. Basra’s police chief, Mohammed al-Mawsawi, said his force was trying hard to “to put an end to the spiral of murder and killings which nobody knows who is behind.” He said cars with tainted glass and no registration plates roam the streets of Basra. “The unknown drivers kill, kidnap and violate all rules and procedures with impunity,” he said.
“The central authority is non-existent in Basra and there is a terrifying presence of gunmen on the streets,” warned Wail Abdulrahman, a member of parliament representing one of Basra’s constituencies. Abdulrahman, a former Basra governor, said, “There are so many armed groups in the city and no one knows their affiliations. Basra may fall as a province for any reason any time. This is a regrettable situation.”
Basra is the capital of a province of the same name and safeguarding security is still the responsibility of British occupation troops.’ But the troops are apparently huddled in their barracks and afraid to engage the fighters. Most of Iraq’s oil exports originate in the province’s oil fields. Basra’s police chief, Mohammed al-Mawsawi, said his force was trying hard to “to put an end to the spiral of murder and killings which nobody knows who is behind.” He said cars with tainted glass and no registration plates roam the streets of Basra. “The unknown drivers kill, kidnap and violate all rules and procedures with impunity,” he said.
Labels: Basra, Fadhela party, gunmen, Mahdi Army, militias, Mohammed al-Waili, Nassar al-Rubai, violence, Wail Abdulrahman
