Iraqi army controls Basra

2008-04-24 19:39

Basra, Iraq - A month after Iraqi troops poured into the southern city of Basra to take on militiamen who had overrun five neighbourhoods, the government claims to have regained control of the streets.

"All areas of Basra are under the command of the security forces," interior ministry spokesperson Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said on Thursday.

"There are no areas under the control of armed men. Iraqi police are deployed in all Basra streets," he told AFP.

Many residents reported they feel safer as a measure of normality has returned to the oil-rich city with the reopening of markets and the resumption of basic services.

The tide of fundamentalism which swept into the city with the Shi'ite militiamen who tried to force their brand of Islam onto local residents has been rolled back.

Music stores have reopened, with US movies, cassettes and CDs on the shelves for the first time in years as residents again hold parties now that alcohol is once more available, albeit surreptitiously.

"Lawless gunmen"

Schools in Basra reopened on April 6 and to make up for lost days, children are attending classes on Saturdays. Universities and colleges started again on April 20.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the crackdown on March 25, vowing to rid Basra of "lawless gunmen" and personally took charge of the assault, codenamed Operation Sawlat Al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights).

The fierce fighting which marked the first week of the operation has given way to slower, more focused house-by-house searches by Iraqi troops - mainly in areas dominated by Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen.

A similar operation is under way in Sadr City, the Mahdi Army's eastern Baghdad bastion, where militiamen have been battling US and Iraqi troops in earnest since April 6.

Sadr has warned of "open war" by his estimated 60 000-strong rebel force, the country's most powerful private army, unless the assaults are halted.

Residents of Basra have generally welcomed the crackdown.

Back to life again

"Thanks to Sawlat Al-Fursan, our stores are back to life again," said music shop owner Jassim al-Zuberi.

"We have also been attending parties again," he added.

"After the fall of the (Saddam Hussein) regime, we were able for about six months to open our music stores and to play music at weddings and private parties," he said.

"But then we were threatened and forced to close our shops. Some music store owners changed their focus to decorating cars for weddings."

The city of 1.6 million people is by no means functioning normally, the streets are still flooded with troops, innumerable checkpoints snarl the traffic and residents are scared to go out at night.

Markets have reopened, but owners complain that customers are not spending because many had stocked up with vast quantities of supplies during the fighting.

- AFP