Street fighting reported in southern cities Azzaman in English
Fighting is raging between Shiite militias in southern Iraq particularly in the cities of Diwaniya and Karbala.
There are reports of casualties and at least 40 civilians are said to have been injured. Residents say some neighborhoods of Diwaniya have turned into battlefields.
The fighting pitches unauthorized gunmen of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against the unruly militias of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council currently led by Amar al-Hakeem.’
The two factions command both political and military wings. Moqtada’s Mahdi Arm and Hakeem’s Badr Corps are their military wings and are said to be better equipped and armed than Iraqi troops.
Hakeem and Sadr had signed an agreement to halt the fighting and form a joint committee to supervise a ceasefire. But the deal collapsed.
U.S. troops have come to the assistance of Iraqi police and army in Diwaniya.
Hakeem’s men control the provincial councils in the two cities and their police forces.
Sadr, despite the popularity of his movement, feels to be marginalized in the running of provincial affairs.
The cleric has asked U.S. troops to withdraw from Diwaniya and stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Clashes involving disparate Shiite militia groups were also reported in Basra.
Source: Azzaman in English
Indexed under: Al-Qādisiyyah - Governorate, Badr Brigade, Diwaniyah, Jaish al-Mahdi, Mahdi, Mahdi Army, Militia