Iraqi cleric’s followers march

BAGHDAD – Tens of thousands of supporters of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad yesterday as a crackdown on his followers raged in southern Iraqi towns and rockets and mortars exploded across the capital.

In Sadr City, the vast Shi’ite slum named after Sadr’s slain father, enormous crowds of angry men jammed the main circle chanting and shouting slogans calling for the ousting of US-backed Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. “We demand the downfall of the Maliki government.It does not represent the people.It represents Bush and Cheney,” marcher Hussein Abu Ali said.The slum of two million people has been locked in a virtual state of siege: “We are trapped in our homes with no water or electricity since yesterday.We can’t bathe our children or wash our clothes,” said a resident who gave his name as Mohammed.Mass demonstrations were also held in the northern Kadhimiya and Shula districts.The demonstrations were among the largest anti-government protests Maliki’s government has faced, although the total number of marchers was impossible to verify.An Interior Ministry source said hundreds of thousands took part.More than 130 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since the government launched a major military operation in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday, targeting districts where Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia has a strong presence.Fighting there raged afresh yesterday for a third day.A Reuters correspondent in the city said Iraqi forces had cordoned off seven districts but were being repelled by Mehdi Army fighters inside them.Helicopters swooped overhead.Authorities imposed curfews in other Shi’ite towns to halt the spread of the violence, which has exposed a deep divide between Shi’ite parties in Maliki’s government and Sadr’s followers who in many Shi’ite areas rule the streets.The government says it is fighting “outlaws”.Sadrists say Maliki is using military force to marginalise political rivals ahead of local elections due by October.The clashes have all but wrecked a truce declared last August by Sadr, which US commanders had credited with reducing violence.Saboteurs blew up one of Iraq’s two main oil export pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 per cent of government revenue.US oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel after the blast.A massive mortar bombardment struck the main riverside police base at Basra palace before noon yesterday and heavy shooting broke out in a main commercial street in the city.”The operation is still ongoing and will continue until Basra is free from criminals and outlaws,” said Defence Ministry operations chief Major-General Abdul-Aziz Mohammed.Reuters television pictures showed masked gunmen from Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia in Basra wielding automatic rifles and rocket launchers, showing off vehicles seized from government troops.Some vehicles were painted with Mehdi Army slogans.”I call on Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqi army to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iraqi people and not hurt them.We in the Mehdi Army are your brothers,” said a commander amid armed fighters dressed in black.Nampa-Reuters”We demand the downfall of the Maliki government.It does not represent the people.It represents Bush and Cheney,” marcher Hussein Abu Ali said.The slum of two million people has been locked in a virtual state of siege: “We are trapped in our homes with no water or electricity since yesterday.We can’t bathe our children or wash our clothes,” said a resident who gave his name as Mohammed.Mass demonstrations were also held in the northern Kadhimiya and Shula districts.The demonstrations were among the largest anti-government protests Maliki’s government has faced, although the total number of marchers was impossible to verify.An Interior Ministry source said hundreds of thousands took part.More than 130 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since the government launched a major military operation in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday, targeting districts where Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia has a strong presence.Fighting there raged afresh yesterday for a third day.A Reuters correspondent in the city said Iraqi forces had cordoned off seven districts but were being repelled by Mehdi Army fighters inside them.Helicopters swooped overhead.Authorities imposed curfews in other Shi’ite towns to halt the spread of the violence, which has exposed a deep divide between Shi’ite parties in Maliki’s government and Sadr’s followers who in many Shi’ite areas rule the streets.The government says it is fighting “outlaws”.Sadrists say Maliki is using military force to marginalise political rivals ahead of local elections due by October.The clashes have all but wrecked a truce declared last August by Sadr, which US commanders had credited with reducing violence.Saboteurs blew up one of Iraq’s two main oil export pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 per cent of government revenue.US oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel after the blast.A massive mortar bombardment struck the main riverside police base at Basra palace before noon yesterday and heavy shooting broke out in a main commercial street in the city.”The operation is still ongoing and will continue until Basra is free from criminals and outlaws,” said Defence Ministry operations chief Major-General Abdul-Aziz Mohammed.Reuters television pictures showed masked gunmen from Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia in Basra wielding automatic rifles and rocket launchers, showing off vehicles seized from government troops.Some vehicles were painted with Mehdi Army slogans.”I call on Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqi army to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iraqi people and not hurt them.We in the Mehdi Army are your brothers,” said a commander amid armed fighters dressed in black.Nampa-Reuters