Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse..............
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Shiite cleric spurs uprising in Iraq
Jeffrey Gettleman/NYT The New York Times Monday, April 5, 2004
Coordinated attacks by militiamen erupt from Baghdad to southern cities
BAGHDAD Iraq was racked Sunday by the most violent civil disturbances since the occupation started, with a coordinated Shiite uprising spreading across the country, from the slums of Baghdad to several cities in the south.
.
By day's end, witnesses said Shiite militiamen controlled Kufa, a city south of Baghdad, with armed men loyal to a radical cleric occupying the police stations and checkpoints. More than eight people were killed by Spanish forces in a similar uprising in Najaf, which is adjacent to Kufa.
.
In Baghdad, American tanks battled militiamen loyal to the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has denounced the occupation and has an army of thousands of young followers.
.
At nightfall Sunday, Sadr City, a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, shook with explosions and tank and machine gun fire. Black smoke choked the sky. The streets were lined with armed militiamen dressed in black. American tanks surrounded the area. Attack helicopters thundered overhead.
.
"The occupation is over!" people on the streets yelled. "We are now controlled by Sadr. The Americans should stay out."
.
Witnesses said Sadr's militiamen had tried to take over three police stations in Sadr City, a poor neighborhood north of central Baghdad named after his father.
.
Doctors at Baghdad hospitals reported that several people had been wounded in the fighting, but there were no details on casualties.
.
Franco Pagetti, an Italian photographer, said he had been caught in the crossfire and had witnessed several American tanks firing into the streets. "The tanks were shooting into the pavement, not at the height of the people," Pagetti said. "It looked like they were trying to clear the streets."
.
Pagetti also said he had watched a group of militiamen launch three rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. Humvees but the militiamen had missed each time. "The situation is getting worse," Pagetti said. "I saw injured people getting put in cars. The people said they had been wounded by American helicopters." As the fighting raged, Sadr called on his followers to "terrorize" the enemy as demonstrations were no longer any use. Last week his weekly newspaper, Hawza, was shut down by the American authorities after it had been accused of inciting violence. The closure began a week of protests that grew bigger and more unruly at each turn. "There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions and despises peoples," Sadr said in a statement distributed by his office in Kufa on Sunday. "I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways," he told his followers. "Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."
.
S.-led occupation ends on June 30, Reuters reported from New York. "There they will cooperate with the parties to assist them in the transitional process," a UN statement released in New York said. The UN does not announce staff visits to Iraq in advance for security reasons.
.
Another UN team, led by Carina Perelli, head of the UN electoral unit, arrived in Baghdad a little over a week ago.
.
The teams were sent at the invitation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, and their visits were also endorsed by the UN Security Council, which issued a statement calling on all the parties in Iraq to fully cooperate with their work.
.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, last went to Iraq in February to study the feasibility of holding elections and to discuss proposals for an interim government.
.
But in March some Shiites in the Iraqi council, including Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile leader, voiced opposition to a UN return, mainly because Brahimi had advised against direct elections before June 30.
.
In the end, however, the council invited him back.
.
Brahimi still faces a confused situation. The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has urged the United Nations not to endorse the country's interim constitution, raising another obstacle to U.S. plans to hand over power to Iraqis.
.
In a letter to Brahimi, Sistani said the temporary constitution, already approved by the Iraqi council, should not be mentioned in any new Security Council resolution the United States and Britain want adopted in May. The planned resolution is expected to define the UN role in Iraq and to endorse an interim government and a multinational force under U.S. command.
.
A new resolution is also sought by the incoming Socialist government in Spain, which wants to withdraw 1,300 troops from Iraq unless the United Nations has a key role.
< < Back to Start of Article Coordinated attacks by militiamen erupt from Baghdad to southern cities
BAGHDAD Iraq was racked Sunday by the most violent civil disturbances since the occupation started, with a coordinated Shiite uprising spreading across the country, from the slums of Baghdad to several cities in the south.
.
By day's end, witnesses said Shiite militiamen controlled Kufa, a city south of Baghdad, with armed men loyal to a radical cleric occupying the police stations and checkpoints. More than eight people were killed by Spanish forces in a similar uprising in Najaf, which is adjacent to Kufa.
.
In Baghdad, American tanks battled militiamen loyal to the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has denounced the occupation and has an army of thousands of young followers.
.
At nightfall Sunday, Sadr City, a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, shook with explosions and tank and machine gun fire. Black smoke choked the sky. The streets were lined with armed militiamen dressed in black. American tanks surrounded the area. Attack helicopters thundered overhead.
.
"The occupation is over!" people on the streets yelled. "We are now controlled by Sadr. The Americans should stay out."
.
Witnesses said Sadr's militiamen had tried to take over three police stations in Sadr City, a poor neighborhood north of central Baghdad named after his father.
.
Doctors at Baghdad hospitals reported that several people had been wounded in the fighting, but there were no details on casualties.
.
Franco Pagetti, an Italian photographer, said he had been caught in the crossfire and had witnessed several American tanks firing into the streets. "The tanks were shooting into the pavement, not at the height of the people," Pagetti said. "It looked like they were trying to clear the streets."
.
Pagetti also said he had watched a group of militiamen launch three rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. Humvees but the militiamen had missed each time. "The situation is getting worse," Pagetti said. "I saw injured people getting put in cars. The people said they had been wounded by American helicopters." As the fighting raged, Sadr called on his followers to "terrorize" the enemy as demonstrations were no longer any use. Last week his weekly newspaper, Hawza, was shut down by the American authorities after it had been accused of inciting violence. The closure began a week of protests that grew bigger and more unruly at each turn. "There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions and despises peoples," Sadr said in a statement distributed by his office in Kufa on Sunday. "I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways," he told his followers. "Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."
.
S.-led occupation ends on June 30, Reuters reported from New York. "There they will cooperate with the parties to assist them in the transitional process," a UN statement released in New York said. The UN does not announce staff visits to Iraq in advance for security reasons.
.
Another UN team, led by Carina Perelli, head of the UN electoral unit, arrived in Baghdad a little over a week ago.
.
The teams were sent at the invitation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, and their visits were also endorsed by the UN Security Council, which issued a statement calling on all the parties in Iraq to fully cooperate with their work.
.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, last went to Iraq in February to study the feasibility of holding elections and to discuss proposals for an interim government.
.
But in March some Shiites in the Iraqi council, including Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile leader, voiced opposition to a UN return, mainly because Brahimi had advised against direct elections before June 30.
.
In the end, however, the council invited him back.
.
Brahimi still faces a confused situation. The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has urged the United Nations not to endorse the country's interim constitution, raising another obstacle to U.S. plans to hand over power to Iraqis.
.
In a letter to Brahimi, Sistani said the temporary constitution, already approved by the Iraqi council, should not be mentioned in any new Security Council resolution the United States and Britain want adopted in May. The planned resolution is expected to define the UN role in Iraq and to endorse an interim government and a multinational force under U.S. command.
.
A new resolution is also sought by the incoming Socialist government in Spain, which wants to withdraw 1,300 troops from Iraq unless the United Nations has a key role. Coordinated attacks by militiamen erupt from Baghdad to southern cities
BAGHDAD Iraq was racked Sunday by the most violent civil disturbances since the occupation started, with a coordinated Shiite uprising spreading across the country, from the slums of Baghdad to several cities in the south.
.
By day's end, witnesses said Shiite militiamen controlled Kufa, a city south of Baghdad, with armed men loyal to a radical cleric occupying the police stations and checkpoints. More than eight people were killed by Spanish forces in a similar uprising in Najaf, which is adjacent to Kufa.
.
In Baghdad, American tanks battled militiamen loyal to the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has denounced the occupation and has an army of thousands of young followers.
.
At nightfall Sunday, Sadr City, a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, shook with explosions and tank and machine gun fire. Black smoke choked the sky. The streets were lined with armed militiamen dressed in black. American tanks surrounded the area. Attack helicopters thundered overhead.
.
"The occupation is over!" people on the streets yelled. "We are now controlled by Sadr. The Americans should stay out."
.
Witnesses said Sadr's militiamen had tried to take over three police stations in Sadr City, a poor neighborhood north of central Baghdad named after his father.
.
Doctors at Baghdad hospitals reported that several people had been wounded in the fighting, but there were no details on casualties.
.
Franco Pagetti, an Italian photographer, said he had been caught in the crossfire and had witnessed several American tanks firing into the streets. "The tanks were shooting into the pavement, not at the height of the people," Pagetti said. "It looked like they were trying to clear the streets."
.
Pagetti also said he had watched a group of militiamen launch three rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. Humvees but the militiamen had missed each time. "The situation is getting worse," Pagetti said. "I saw injured people getting put in cars. The people said they had been wounded by American helicopters." As the fighting raged, Sadr called on his followers to "terrorize" the enemy as demonstrations were no longer any use. Last week his weekly newspaper, Hawza, was shut down by the American authorities after it had been accused of inciting violence. The closure began a week of protests that grew bigger and more unruly at each turn. "There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions and despises peoples," Sadr said in a statement distributed by his office in Kufa on Sunday. "I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways," he told his followers. "Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."
.
S.-led occupation ends on June 30, Reuters reported from New York. "There they will cooperate with the parties to assist them in the transitional process," a UN statement released in New York said. The UN does not announce staff visits to Iraq in advance for security reasons.
.
Another UN team, led by Carina Perelli, head of the UN electoral unit, arrived in Baghdad a little over a week ago.
.
The teams were sent at the invitation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, and their visits were also endorsed by the UN Security Council, which issued a statement calling on all the parties in Iraq to fully cooperate with their work.
.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, last went to Iraq in February to study the feasibility of holding elections and to discuss proposals for an interim government.
.
But in March some Shiites in the Iraqi council, including Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile leader, voiced opposition to a UN return, mainly because Brahimi had advised against direct elections before June 30.
.
In the end, however, the council invited him back.
.
Brahimi still faces a confused situation. The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has urged the United Nations not to endorse the country's interim constitution, raising another obstacle to U.S. plans to hand over power to Iraqis.
.
In a letter to Brahimi, Sistani said the temporary constitution, already approved by the Iraqi council, should not be mentioned in any new Security Council resolution the United States and Britain want adopted in May. The planned resolution is expected to define the UN role in Iraq and to endorse an interim government and a multinational force under U.S. command.
.
A new resolution is also sought by the incoming Socialist government in Spain, which wants to withdraw 1,300 troops from Iraq unless the United Nations has a key role. Coordinated attacks by militiamen erupt from Baghdad to southern cities
BAGHDAD Iraq was racked Sunday by the most violent civil disturbances since the occupation started, with a coordinated Shiite uprising spreading across the country, from the slums of Baghdad to several cities in the south.
.
By day's end, witnesses said Shiite militiamen controlled Kufa, a city south of Baghdad, with armed men loyal to a radical cleric occupying the police stations and checkpoints. More than eight people were killed by Spanish forces in a similar uprising in Najaf, which is adjacent to Kufa.
.
In Baghdad, American tanks battled militiamen loyal to the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has denounced the occupation and has an army of thousands of young followers.
.
At nightfall Sunday, Sadr City, a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, shook with explosions and tank and machine gun fire. Black smoke choked the sky. The streets were lined with armed militiamen dressed in black. American tanks surrounded the area. Attack helicopters thundered overhead.
.
"The occupation is over!" people on the streets yelled. "We are now controlled by Sadr. The Americans should stay out."
.
Witnesses said Sadr's militiamen had tried to take over three police stations in Sadr City, a poor neighborhood north of central Baghdad named after his father.
.
Doctors at Baghdad hospitals reported that several people had been wounded in the fighting, but there were no details on casualties.
.
Franco Pagetti, an Italian photographer, said he had been caught in the crossfire and had witnessed several American tanks firing into the streets. "The tanks were shooting into the pavement, not at the height of the people," Pagetti said. "It looked like they were trying to clear the streets."
.
Pagetti also said he had watched a group of militiamen launch three rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. Humvees but the militiamen had missed each time. "The situation is getting worse," Pagetti said. "I saw injured people getting put in cars. The people said they had been wounded by American helicopters." As the fighting raged, Sadr called on his followers to "terrorize" the enemy as demonstrations were no longer any use. Last week his weekly newspaper, Hawza, was shut down by the American authorities after it had been accused of inciting violence. The closure began a week of protests that grew bigger and more unruly at each turn. "There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions and despises peoples," Sadr said in a statement distributed by his office in Kufa on Sunday. "I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways," he told his followers. "Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."
.
S.-led occupation ends on June 30, Reuters reported from New York. "There they will cooperate with the parties to assist them in the transitional process," a UN statement released in New York said. The UN does not announce staff visits to Iraq in advance for security reasons.
.
Another UN team, led by Carina Perelli, head of the UN electoral unit, arrived in Baghdad a little over a week ago.
.
The teams were sent at the invitation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, and their visits were also endorsed by the UN Security Council, which issued a statement calling on all the parties in Iraq to fully cooperate with their work.
.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, last went to Iraq in February to study the feasibility of holding elections and to discuss proposals for an interim government.
.
But in March some Shiites in the Iraqi council, including Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile leader, voiced opposition to a UN return, mainly because Brahimi had advised against direct elections before June 30.
.
In the end, however, the council invited him back.
.
Brahimi still faces a confused situation. The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has urged the United Nations not to endorse the country's interim constitution, raising another obstacle to U.S. plans to hand over power to Iraqis.
.
In a letter to Brahimi, Sistani said the temporary constitution, already approved by the Iraqi council, should not be mentioned in any new Security Council resolution the United States and Britain want adopted in May. The planned resolution is expected to define the UN role in Iraq and to endorse an interim government and a multinational force under U.S. command.
.
A new resolution is also sought by the incoming Socialist government in Spain, which wants to withdraw 1,300 troops from Iraq unless the United Nations has a key role.
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