Mahdi Army makes a final push to control southwest Baghdad

McClatchy Newspapers ^ | June 9 2007 | Leila Fadel, Sahar Issa and Mohammed al Dulaimy

[ASC2006]

In the past 10 days, the fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia has resurfaced in force, making a push to roust Sunnis from Baghdad and to isolate Sunni enclaves in the west of the capital from their brethren in the south.

Mahdi Army militiamen in the Shiite dominated neighborhood of Bayaa were reinforced by other Shiite fighters and men in civilian clothes with weapons have cordoned off the area. In the past 10 days Mahdi Army activity has escalated, intensifying in the past two days with the capture of two Sunni mosques, residents and police said.

The push appears to be part of a strategy by the Mahdi Army to control swaths of the once Sunni-dominated west bank of the Tigris River.

Two Sunni men reached by phone had fled Bayaa in the last five days because of the rising violence. Neither of the men would give their names or new places of residence for fear of retribution.

Five days ago one of the Sunni men was warned by his Shiite neighbors and friends. "The Mahdi Army is asking about you, they are watching you," he was told. So he packed up his things, his family and left.

Last week his cousin was dragged from his car at a Mahdi Army checkpoint and shot.

"The army is fighting along side the Mahdi Army," he said. "We cannot trust a security plan that doesn't protect the people. . . . They come to you as a state of government with power. . . . If you defend yourself, the interior commandoes will arrest you as a terrorist the next day."

Two Shiite men in Bayaa also described an escalation of violence but were happy to see the Mahdi Army return to protect them, they said.

[txhurl]

jmc1969 banned? why?

[DallasSun]

It is good to see you are still here. Stay strong and take care. It is nice to see someone who has the courage of his convictions.

[jveritas]

Thank you Dallas, glad to see you too :)