[Smogger]

I don't wanna see our boys getting shot up in some ethnic fighting. One of my biggest concerns. The country is starting to unravel now.

[dfwgator]

This needs to be nipped in the bud.

[shadowman99]

One of the reasons we will need to stick around for a while is to keep Iraq from becoming Afganistan - a country of anarchy with tribal wars and warlords. That gave birth to the Taliban. Nobody wants to see Iraq fall to militant islam.

[MeekOneGOP]

bttt

[Southack]

< SARCASM ON>

... After determining that 600,000 Iraqi soldiers shooting at 100,000 Americans resulted in fewer than 100 kills, some Iraqis have now decided that shooting at each other is safer than waiting around for the Americans to destroy them.

< /SARCASM >

[BurbankKarl]

I was watching some report last night, with an Arab speaking 101st Airborne member speaking with residents. He remarked how the local Iraqis were told that the American soliders would kill the men, rape the women, enslave the children, etc. He then went on to say that after the initial shock of seeing US Troops with M-16s wore off, and that we weren't like that, the locals stated that nearly everyone on that street had lost a family member or extended family member to violence from the Baath party. So, you can see where some of this in-fighting is coming from, and what motivations are behind it.

[vigilante2]

problem is the elites have been hiding behind the women and children this whole time forcing civilians to fight for them..many of the thugs have probably survived and are now regrouping..we should just blast anybody who gets out of hand!

[aristeides]

Considering its location, I imagine the population of Nasiriyah is predominantly Shiite. I suspect this is a rebellion of Shiites against the Ba'athists.

[michigander]

Iraq latest: At-a-glance

1805: Firefight breaks out in the centre of Nasiriya - it is believed the fighting is between Iraqi groups, possibly between Fedayeen members faithful to Saddam Hussein and people opposed to him.

[Aric2000]

I would almost guarantee that this is betwwen the Shiites and the Baathists, if so, I say let them go at it.

The Shiites outnumber the Baathists by a good number, let them get it out of thier systems, less Baathists for us to deal with later.

[kinghorse]

also I should mention it was written somewhere today that an exiled Iraqi force of some 5,0000 men has landed in Nasiriya. They are probably in the process of earning their spurs (much like Karzai did at the Kandahar air field battles) for future leadership positions in Iraq. You have to walk the walk before you can talk the talk in this part of the world.

[kinghorse]

"In a surprise move, the United States has begun airlifting hundreds of members of an Iraqi exile group into southern Iraq. Taking up camp on the outskirts of Nasiriya, the soldiers belong to the Iraqi National Congress. Their leader, Ahmed Chalabi, a former London-based banker, was among those flown in."

There you go.

[kattracks]

Iraqis fight each other in Nassiriya, U.S. says


NASSIRIYA, Iraq, April 7 (Reuters) - Small arms fire and explosions echoed through the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya after dark on Monday as U.S. forces in the area stood by and put it down to in-fighting among Iraqis.

Reuters correspondent Adrian Croft heard the crack of rifle fire and blasts from what sounded like rocket-propelled grenades ringing out in the city centre, becoming quite intense for a time. But it was unclear who was involved and U.S. commanders said they did not plan to intervene.

"We're looking at forces inside the city taking each other on. This is Iraqi against Iraqi," said Captain Rick Crevier, a company commander with the U.S. 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Crevier said the combatants could be residents fighting pro-Baghdad Fedayeen paramilitaries, people rebelling against President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, or simply looters.

"We are letting these guys figure it out and then we'll sort things out tomorrow morning. There are no U.S. forces engaged right now," Crevier said. "We are going to go through and clear the aftermath in the morning and see what is left."

There have been incidences of looting and score-settling among Iraqis in other towns now under U.S. or British control.

It was not known whether the fighting was linked with the reported arrival in Nassiriya of several hundred anti-Saddam Iraqi opposition fighters headed by Ahmad Chalabi, the best known leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC).

An opposition official said in Washington on Monday that the 700 fighters would join the U.S. military campaign against the Iraqi government, delivering humanitarian aid and "maintaining law, order and stability in areas already liberated."

In an apparent reference to Chalabi's group, Crevier said he understood there would be a parade through Nassiriya on Tuesday by 700 anti-Saddam forces.

Nassiriya is a strategically placed city straddling the lower Euphrates river and was the scene of fierce fighting soon after U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq on March 20. There have been no reports of Iraqi resistance there for some days.

04/07/03 15:44 ET

[cake_crumb]

"I don't wanna see our boys getting shot up in some ethnic fighting."

Couldn't it be a revolt against Saddam's supporters?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Mister Baredog]

I think this is where Chabali and about 600 or 700 Iraqi National Congress soldiers went to fight with the coalition. Maybe they are doing some of the clean up.

[isthisnickcool]

USA! USA!

[Dr. Frank fan]

That's strange. So when there weren't uprisings, everyone was complaining that this proved our war plans were messed up and the Iraqis "didn't want" to be liberated. Lack of uprisings was horrible, just horrible, for us.

Now there are uprisings and it's bad for us, so we should nip it in the bud.

Man, we just can't win.

[ANDY72632]

This force opposing the Saddamites is possibly the heavily equipped and specially trained Iraqi freedom fighters that we were supposed to bring in to show that Iraqis can arm themselves and take back their country.

[laz17]

This is nothing more than the newly-freed oppressed turning on their former oppressors. The two factions involved are the Iraqi civilians and the Fedayeen, not rival tribes. It's not a sign of chaos or failure of our mission. On the contrary, it's a welcome, and expected, side-effect of our mission. But of course, the Left doesn't want to portray it that way. They'll keep lying until they draw their last breath.

[Redleg Duke]

Any chance this was regular Iraqis going after the Ba'ath Party Thugs?