The Battle in Basra and the Backlash in Baghdad

Basra has become a haven for militia and criminal activity, especially in the wake of the British withdrawal from the city center in December 2007. Rival Shi’a militias have been engaged in a violent and protracted power struggle; and drugs, weapons, and oil smuggling rings have also thrived. In recent weeks, Iraqi officials have hinted at plans for a security crackdown in the city. In mid-March, it was reported that Iraqi government officials were considering deploying Iraqi Army forces to regain Basra’s main port, located thirty miles south of the city at Umm Qasr.

[i]

However, the arrival of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Basra on Monday March 24, 2008, suggested that the city itself would be the primary focus for operations. Upon his arrival, Maliki relieved the Basra police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, and the head of the Basra Operational Command, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji.

[ii]

To date, replacements for these commanders have not been announced. Maliki and Iraqi Ground Forces Commander, Lt. General Ali Ghaidan Majid, are currently overseeing the operation in Basra.

[iii]

 On the night of Maliki’s arrival and in preparation for the offensive, Basra authorities announced an indefinite nightly curfew.

[iv]

Curfews were also announced in the cities of Kut and Nasiriyah, where Iraqi Security Forces and militia gunmen had also recently clashed.

[v]

 Three additional Iraqi Army brigades were sent to Basra to reinforce the security force presence in the city in preparation for the crackdown.

[vi]

Early on the morning of Tuesday March 25, 2008, Iraqi Security Forces launched a security offensive termed Saulat al-Fursan, or Operation Knight’s Charge. The plan aims to restore stability and law to the province by purging criminal elements in the area.  Violence erupted shortly after Iraqi Security Forces entered the neighborhood of Al-Tamiyah, a stronghold of Sadr’s Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in western Basra.

[vii]

Throughout the day, Iraqi forces expanded in to other Sadrist strongholds, including the neighborhoods of al-Jumhuriyah, al-Hayyaniyah, Five Miles, and al-Jubaylah; and they continued to clash with militiamen.

[viii]

Now, roughly twenty-four hours into the operation, fierce fighting between the Jaysh al-Mahdi gunmen and the Iraqi Security Forces persists in many neighborhoods of Basra and in Sadrist strongholds outside the city.

[ix]

  While exact number of casualties cannot be verified, the BBC has reported that at least 30 people were killed during the first day of fighting.

[x]

The offensive in Basra has provoked a strong reaction by Sadrist supporters, particularly in Baghdad.  Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr have vehemently condemned the actions of the Iraqi Security Forces, which they perceive as a plan by the United States, Iraqi government, and rival Shi’a party ISCI to unfairly target Sadrists. At the request of Muqtada al-Sadr, residents of Jaysh al-Mahdi strongholds in Baghdad—particularly the neighborhoods of Sadr City, Aamel, Jihad, and Abu Disheer—have launched a civil disobedience campaign to protest the crackdown.

[xi]

As part of the campaign, schools and shops have been closed, numerous Jaysh al-Mahdi checkpoints have sprung up, and many Iraqis have taken to the streets to protest. Violent clashes between Iraqi Security Forces and gunmen, and between rival Shi’a groups, have also been reported in areas of eastern Baghdad.

[xii]

For the second time in three days, the heavily-fortified Green Zone has been hit with mortar and rocket rounds.

[xiii]

Elsewhere in Iraq, clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi Security Forces have been reported in Wasit province, in the cities of Kut and Aziziyah.

[xiv]

In an effort to prevent a further deterioration of the security situation, additional curfews have been imposed throughout Qadisiyah and Babil provinces.

[xv]

These recent developments may have a profound effect on security in the Iraqi capital and throughout the south. Operations against Sadrist militias in southern Iraq, combined with the growing civil disobedience movement and violence in the capital, threaten to destabilize or perhaps overturn Sadr’s ceasefire. As Coalition and Iraqi Forces have cracked down on militia activity in recent months, many Jaysh al-Mahdi members have grown impatient with Sadr’s ceasefire.  Some Sadrist leaders have expressed concerns that the increased operations against their militias will lead Jaysh al-Mahdi members to fight back, causing spike in violence. While it is too soon to tell what the exact implications of the battle in Basra and backlash in Baghdad will be, many worry that the recent security offensive will shatter the ceasefire and undermine recent security improvements.