Word: sadr
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Residents of the impoverished and enormous Shi'ite warren in east Baghdad have been under siege since April, when Iraqi security forces backed by American troops began clashing in the area with fighters from the Mahdi Army militia led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. For weeks gun battles and air strikes came almost every day in Sadr City as soldiers and militiamen faced off in a stalemated battle at the edge of the district, which is the Mahdi Army's stronghold. A hastily arranged truce between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sadr halted the fighting last week. Under...
...arrangement effectively gives Iraqi security forces their first real presence in Sadr City since the fall of Saddam Hussein and marks a victory in Maliki's ongoing efforts to face down the militias and insurgents opposed to his government. Iraqi forces plan to remain in Sadr City and have begun setting up a series of checkpoints across the district, much as they have in other areas of Baghdad. For his part, Sadr seems to have gained little in the near term with the pact beyond sparing Sadr City and his militia forces a long and destructive battle. But Mahdi Army...
Some of the Iraqi forces that swept into Sadr City over the last 24 hours might have expected hostility from the residents of the area, where the Mahdi Army and the broader Sadrist movement has effectively served as the only authority and provider of services for the last five years. But at least some Sadr City residents, like Mutlieck, were glad to see actual government forces on the streets rather than militiamen who some say operate like mafia racketeers...
Water and electricity have long been scarce in Sadr City, which was one of the poorest areas of Baghdad even before the most recent fighting worsened the humanitarian situation there. Some residents have complained that the Mahdi Army's grip on Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces previously did not go, has left them struggling to get what little of the basic services are available in the area. "You can't just blame the government for the shortages of services," said Haithem Hamid, another Sadr City resident. "Most of the blame goes to the Mahdi Army, which controls...
...government stance in Sadr City, some hope, will break the militia's hold on the local economy and spur badly needed reconstruction and development in the area. But any reconstruction effort will be a massive undertaking. Iraqi army forces viewed scenes of widespread destruction as they entered Sadr City. Roughly 10,000 Iraqi troops moved through block after block of burnt and shattered buildings. Iraqi army Humvees slogged through pools of standing water that could come to pose a serious health threat in the densely packed urban area as well...