Gorilla’s Guides

Throughout the country by 21:30 the GZG authorities admitted to 25 dead and 57 wounded. There is very heavy fighting going on in Sadr city. The Americans have it under siege and are refusing all access to the city. American helicopters have bombed the city repeatedly. American snipers are being deployed on the roof tops. Imam Ali spokesmen say they are now desperately short of medical supplies. The Red Crescent attempts to get emergency medical supplies to the city which we reported yesterday have failed because the Americans will not let them through.

There are reports that the fires caused by the American bombing of the Jameela market are spreading and that there is no water being pumped to the city.

Note: Follow this link to see the postings on Jameelah market (Sadr City) in particular see this posting Jameelah market (Sadr City) Bombing In Context posted on 23rd July 2006, A not very short excerpt:

But what I, or any other westerner, think is irrelevant. What’s relevant is how the vast majority of al-Sadr’s constituency see things. And how they see the situation is:

• Al-Sadr’s movement is led by people who didn’t flee Iraq but who stayed and resisted Saddam.
• Al-Sadr has consistently resisted attempts to split up Iraq.
• Al-Sadr is consistently critical of Iranian efforts to increase their influence in the country.
• Al-Sadr has flown in the face of the price rises in fuel, food, clothing, and the ration reductions imposed by the green zone government at the behest of the American led occupation.
• They see and hear the green zone government talking of dividing up Baghdad.
• They see Nouri al Maliki going to Washington to be feted by the very people whose racist and brutal occupation has unleashed a tide of blood upon their homeland (and are now trying to pin the blame upon them.)
• They see their hero, and his followers:
  • Visiting the wounded in hospital.
    
  • Providing comfort to the afflicted.
  • Seeing to it that the families get some food and money to tide them over.
  • Doing their best to protect them and their homes and children.
• They see that al-Sadr and his followers are doing the things that citizens expect a real government to do in an emergency.

If you lived in Sadr city or the South who would you believe? Would you believe a pack of murderous foreigners and their puppets or would you believe what you see with your own eyes day in day out?

Jameelah is essential for the people of Sadr city if this was an attempt at pacification then it failed miserably and there will be serious repercussions for those who carried out the attack.  There are also reports of fighting in al-Shula. Our correspondents say that reports that Basrah is quiet are a flat out lie.

Analysis: Both my colleague Saba Ali and I were wrong. We simply could not believe that Maliki would be foolhardy enough to expand the attacks on the Sadrists.

We were wrong. We hope that this demon can be put back into its bottle but we doubt it. Throughout the Southern governorates there are a series of inter-tribal raids and skirmishes going on. We do not see that this can be contained.

Omar Khdhayyir, Saba Ali Ihsaan.