Report: Shiites Uprising Against Saddam
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar ? The Shiite majority in Basra has started a popular uprising against Saddam Hussein's forces, Sky News reported Tuesday.
Iraqi forces are reportedly firing at the Shiite protesters, who have the support of British troops in the area.
In an about-face, British forces said Tuesday they have decided to move against militia fighters who have prevented them from securing the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Previously, coalition forces said they wanted to avoid urban combat in Iraq's second-largest city.
The decision to declare parts of Basra "military targets" came after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned of a humanitarian crisis in the city and said "urgent measures" had to be taken to restore electricity and water.
British forces have surrounded the city and secured its airport but have continued to face pockets of resistance, including members of Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen paramilitary force. On Monday there were artillery exchanges throughout the day.
"We're obviously assessing the situation before we commence operations to take out the non-regular militia which seems to be set to opposing our taking of the objective," said Group Capt. Al Lockwood, spokesman for British forces in the Persian Gulf.
With 1.3 million people in Basra, "we need to secure the city for the inhabitants and to ensure that their basic necessities in life are taken care of, and obviously that the necessary humanitarian aid, medical facilities are restored as quickly as possible," he said.
British military officials had said several days ago that they would prefer to negotiate surrenders with enemy troops rather than move into Basra itself to secure it. But with resistance continuing, they apparently concluded that something more decisive was necessary.
It was not clear if British forces would move into Basra itself. They have said they wanted to avoid urban combat for as long as possible.
Basra is Iraq's main seaport and lies in southern Iraq's oil-producing region. It is a mostly Shiite city; a 1991 uprising by Shiite Muslims in Basra was crushed by the Iraqi military during the Gulf War.
A British military spokesman said Basra itself was a military target. But later he said only parts of the city -- regime and military infrastructure -- were now so designated.
In a separate attack on militiamen loyal to Saddam, members of Britain's 7th Armored Brigade captured a member of the Baath Party in nearby Az Zubayr on Monday night, the spokesman said. The goal of the operation was to "separate the party members from the military," the spokesman said.
Also in Az Zubayr late Monday, a soldier with another British unit was killed. It was the second combat death for Britain.
Also late Monday, 25 Iraqi armored vehicles, including a number of T-55 battle tanks, were destroyed after British forces called in air support over the al-Faw peninsula, the spokesman said. The Iraqis were firing mortar rounds and artillery.