Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Iraq

Residents in Iraq's Basra fear worse violence

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, April 2 (Reuters) - Cleaning up their shops and venturing out onto the streets after a week of bloody clashes, Iraqis in the southern city of Basra said on Wednesday they feared worse violence was to come.

Basra, Iraq's oil hub, has been relatively calm for the past three days since Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered fighters from his Mehdi Army militia off the streets after they fought pitched battles with Iraqi security forces.

But Sadr has rebuffed an order by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for the Mehdi Army to hand over its weapons and many fear more violence, especially in the lead-up to provincial elections due by October.

"I think these battles will continue and in an even fiercer way as things are not finished yet," said Nadhum Jameel, a 51-year-old government employee.

"The militias are still powerful. Maliki achieved nothing and didn't succeed in disarming them."

The Interior Ministry has said 210 people were killed and 600 wounded in Basra during the fighting, which exposed a deep rift between parties in the government and followers of the populist cleric Sadr, who supported Maliki's rise to power in 2006 but withdrew his support a year later.

Shi'ite parties and militias and have been jockeying for power in Basra for years in a battle that is expected to escalate before the provincial elections.

"The situation is calm but (security) operations are still going on and I think it will ignite again. I am thinking of leaving the city," said Zuhair Abdullah, 34, a metal worker.

Added Aymen Nuri, 32, a shopowner: "This situation could explode at any time because the issue is political."

Sadrists, who boycotted provincial elections in 2005, are vying for control of the mainly Shi'ite, oil-producing south with its powerful rival, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.

The Council is the biggest Shi'ite party in government and an ally of Maliki's Dawa party. Another player is the smaller Fadhila party, which controls the local oil industry.

Sadrists have accused Maliki and the Supreme Council of trying to weaken them ahead of the elections in which they are expected to make big gains at the expense of the Council, which controls many local authorities in the south.

The government has said the crackdown was an attempt to assert state authority in a lawless city.

Many people in Basra expressed outrage at the damage done to their property during the fighting.

"They fought each other and we were the victims," said Ahmed Kareem, as he cleaned up smashed glass from his car parts shop in central Basra.

Sadr announced the surprise ceasefire after talks behind the scenes with parties in Maliki's government.

As part of the deal, Sadr's aides say, authorities are to end roundups of his followers and implement an amnesty to free prisoners. Sadrists have complained they have not benefited from the new amnesty law passed by parliament in February.

Among the gloom of most residents, some were more positive.

"I think it is the beginning of a change. It will end up with the capture and killing of all the gangsters," said Nazeeha Awwad, a 48-year-old housewife.

"Things are moving in the right direction." (Writing by Dean Yates; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)