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How Basra riots turned bloody

Jason Burke explains how the southern Iraqi city turned into a cauldron of violence after a British helicopter crashed

Sunday May 7, 2006
The Observer


If you want to take on a major army in an urban street fight, there are worse places than Basra. The southern port city is a perfect mix of wide open streets - allowing armoured columns or heavily armed troops to penetrate rapidly, which then allows them to be hounded.

The British army had been trying to avoid this particular trap for a long time. Yesterday they found themselves deliberately walking into it, having effectively having set their own bait in the form of the British military helicopter that crashed in a residential area, reportedly killing four British servicemen at around 11am yesterday. If confirmed, the deaths will mark one of the most serious single losses for British forces in Iraq for over a year and come at a critical time for Tony Blair and British forces in Iraq. Equally, if a suspected missile strike is confirmed, it will mark a major step forward in the local insurgents' capabilities, and a serious blow to the UK deployment.

But initially the problem was elsewhere. For the troops of the Battle Group Basra, Highlanders and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards under the command of the Seventh armoured division, the priority was to reach and secure the site of the crash without being dragged into a Black hawk Down scenario.

'We can confirm that there has been a helicopter crash in Basra,' said Major Sebastian Muntz, a British military spokesman in the city. 'British troops are on the scene assisting and emergency services are present.' It was fire crews fighting the flames around the helicopters who told local reporters that there were four charred bodies.

As the British troops moved into the site they were met by a hail of stones from a crowd of several hundred angry people. Molotov cocktails impacted on the armour of the Warrior fighting vehicles sending gouts of orange fire into the air. Soldiers emerged periodically to douse the flames.

As word of the incident spread, the crowds grew. They also changed in character. Where they had earlier been spontaneous, they soon took on a more organised nature. A clue as to why lay in the chants the rioters hurled at the troops: 'Victory to the Mehdi Army', they shouted, a reference to the armed militia of the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. His men - and the Medhi army - have repeatedly been responsible for violent unrest in Basra and elsewhere in southern and central Iraq, though the extent of their involvement in bombings and missile strikes is unclear.

Last September, British forces arrested two officials of Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to al-Sadr, raising tensions. About a week later, militiamen and residents clashed with British troops after two British soldiers in local clothes were detained by Iraqi authorities before being freed in a raid by British forces.

The most senior Shia cleric in the region, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has proved a strong moderating influence but is engaged in a power struggle with al-Sadr and has not always been able to keep growing anti-coalition fervour among the local population under control.

Much of al-Sadr's strategy depends on drawing British troops out of their heavily defended bases and into the streets. Yesterday they came to him. Soon it was small arms as well as rocks that were being used and, though reports are unclear, with British officials denying using anything other than plastic baton rounds, it appears that rapid gunfights, as over as soon as they had begun, swept the rubbish-choked alleyways.

Morgue staff in Basra have confirmed that four dead locals admitted during the confused hours of yesterday afternoon and Iraqi security forces, known to be trigger happy, were also involved in attempts to contain the violence.

If the attack, which may have taken the toll of British soldiers in Iraq to 108, is indeed a missile strike the consequences could be serious. Most British casualties caused by hostile action in Basra have been the result of remotely detonated roadside bombs, though 'hostile fire' that hit a fuel tank brought down a transport plane, killing 10 last year.

'We rely very heavily on helicopters in the south of Iraq to minimise travel by road and successful militant missile strike would be a very serious problem for us,' said one recently retired British senior army officer. 'It could push up casualties significantly.'

Britain has about 8,000 troops based in the mostly Shia Basra area, though southern Iraq has long been less violent than Baghdad and western Iraq tensions are still high. Senior British officials have privately blamed much of the anti-coalition agitation on Iranian government agents infiltrated from the neighbouring state.

The most recent incident comes at the beginning of the hot season when temperatures soar and the failure of the coalition to successfully provide electricity and water to millions of people in southern Iraq is resented more profoundly than ever.

As night fell yesterday, the situation had calmed and a curfew was in place. Nevertheless one analyst was prompted to comment: 'We can expect a hot summer, from every point of view.'




Full coverage
Special report: Iraq
The trial of Saddam Hussein

Britain and Iraq
In memoriam: 100 British troops killed in Iraq
Special report: UK politics and Iraq

Chronology
January 1 2005 - present
Feb 1 2004 - 31 Dec 2004
July 16 1979 - Jan 31 2004

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Provisional authority: rebuilding Iraq
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Wikipedia: Iraq






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