The inhabitants of Najaf, the holy Shi'ite city, say they are "exhausted"
LE MONDE | 23.08.04 | 13h15
Intense combat erupted Monday, the 23rd of August, near the mausoleum of the imam Ali, the sanctuary in the hands of the insurgents faithful to the radical Shi'ite religious chief Moktada Al- Sadr, in Najaf. A journalist of the Reuters agency who found his way into the interior of the mosque complex reported having heard about ten explosions in the middle of the morning. A little before dawn, American helicopters opened fire on the positions held by the Shi'ite militiamen in the holy city. Followers of the rebel chief accused the American aircraft of having damaged a wall within the mausoleum, but the Army denied taking aim at the Shi'ite holy place. Caught in the crossfire of the belligerents, the popuation remaining in Najaf endures in more and more precarious positions.
"The Americans are not near coming. They are still far away, at least 2 kilometers from here", declared Ahmed Al- Chaibani, close collaborator with Al- Sadr,from the mausoleum on Sunday. This is false: at 300 meters, perhaps 200, from the holy place where the militiamen hide, the tanks of the Americans are there, numerous, posted at the intersections of the little alleys in a criss cross pattern.Hidden by the bric a brac which is strewn over the roofs, invisible irregulars also shoot. Shots, rockets, mortar shells, the inhabitants who could leave the quarter engage in dangerous sorties in search of food for their families. At the sound of a new explosion nearby, they quickly take refuge in the closest house.
"This makes several nights without sleep", confided the father of six children. "I didn't want to have to leave the city or even our neighborhood. Now, we are stuck in the middle of combat." Two days after the announcement of an evacuation, by the rebel Shi'ite militia of the mausoleum, the exchanges of gunfire renewed even more, prolonging the suffering of the population of Najaf.
Three days ago, Majid Moussa, an adolescent of 14 years, went out with his uncle and his three brothers, seeking to restock the family. On the way, he found a sort of "little box of yellow conserve". His brother cried out to him not to touch itm but it was too late. In falling again, the object exploded, killing his brother, Zman, in a stroke. Majid himself survived. In a room of the hospital Al- Hakim, situated on the principal street, at the entrance to Najaf, three doctors work on his right leg, torn away at the knee, and on the open burns on his body.
In the next room, another teen, Khaled, himself survived by a miracle, after having received a bullet high in his chest. His father doesn't know who shot him, but he wouldn't be astonished if it were the work of the men of the Army of Mahdi,"who don't know how to use arms and who fire carelessly."
It is difficult to know the exact number of victims caused, to this day, by combat in Najaf. Jawad Kazem Abbas, who directs the hospital Al Hakim, counts 233 wounded and 52 dead, civilians or Iraqi police, since the beginning of the confrontations. He explains that some families dare not come as far as his hospital and that part of the wounded are evacuated to the hospital in the neighboring city, Koufa. The militia uses a little emergency clinic established in the mausoleum.
"BAD CAMP"
"Those who pretend to defend the mausoleum of our imam Ali are only engaged in sabotage!" Abou Karar violently denounced, a blacksmith of 30 years whose stall is riddled with bullets."We have been despoiled of our liberty and our security. The city swarms with brigands who profit from the fact that the inhabitants have fled, looting their property. We thank God that we have been given the Iraqi government, which will rid us of these terrorists!"
The inhabitants of Najaf are not all inclined to frankly express their opinion. Rather than openly criticize Moktada Al- Sadr, they prefer to refer to the grand ayatollah Ali Al- Sistani, now in London for health problems, and his calls for peace since the beginning of the American intervention in Iraq. The people of Najaf remain faithful to the Marjaya (the grand ayatollah)--the highest Shi'ite authority---", assures Abou Karar. "Very few approve of Moktada Al- Sadr or consider him a true man of religion. But many do not dare to day it, especially in this quarter." By the way, a quarter specifically held by and sheltering one of the three houses in the city possessed by the head of the Army of the Mahdi.
It is a large white building of one floor, situated behind the Amir hospital, currently disused. Another inhabitant of the neighborhood recounts having seen American tanks place themselves before this habitation and fire on the militiamen who guarded the entrance. These last left the place, but the rumor still circulates according to which the young men heading the radical Shi'ites would indulge in kidnappings and ransoms, in order to dissuade the people from choosing the "bad camp". Hadi Abdel tells as well of his brother, a restaurateur," who had obtained a contract with the Iraqi National Guard.He was to prepare their daily meals. One day, some men of tghe Army of the Mahdi came to arrest him. This was five months ago.....We still don't know what became of him."
"THEY HAVE TRAMPLED ON MY HEART"
For Ali, things aren't so simple. "The American tanks haven't only over run the streets in my city," he explained with passion."They have trampled on my heart. this occupation is humiliating. I know certain of the militiamen who fight in the interior of the mausoleum and I understand their choice."Meanwhile, he confesses that he would not refuse to enlist in the Iraqi security forces working in concert with the American Army."The Americans announced to us their next recruitment. They offer a salary of 200,000 dinars per month (about 135 dollars). I am an electrician, out of work for six months, and I have a family to feed. Then of course I will go sign up. I know", he sighed, "all of this seems very contradictory, but in this inextricable situation, we are all psychologically exhausted."
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