Region | Iraq
Al Sadr fighters conceal weapons
Thousands of Mahdi Army fighters of Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr, have decided to conceal their weapons rather than hand them over to the Iraqi government in Al Sadr city, officials in the Mahdi army said.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 00:41 April 1, 2008
- Iraqis march during a funeral during a sandstorm in Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq.
- Image Credit: AP
Baghdad: Thousands of Mahdi Army fighters of Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr, have decided to conceal their weapons rather than hand them over to the Iraqi government in Al Sadr city, officials in the Mahdi army said.
They were responding to a call by the Shiite leader to his followers to withdraw from streets and neighbourhoods.
"I lead a small group of the Mahdi Army in Sadr neighbourhood and decided, in coordination with other groups, to hide our weapons in secret places and to return to our usual jobs which include selling oil or petrol on vehicles pulled by horses or donkeys, and working in Baghdad municipality as garbage collectors in the capital," Hadi Al Hasani told Gulf News.
According to unofficial statistics of Iraqi human rights organisations, more than 40 per cent of the Mahdi army fighters in Al Sadr neighbourhood in Baghdad, which is inhabited by more than one million and a half Iraqis, are unemployed.
The remaining 60 per cent, the statistics show work in humble jobs such as selling oil, wandering in Baghdad neighbourhood to purchase used and damaged furniture; selling goods on the street corners; and cleaning the streets or collecting garbage from houses with Baghdad municipality vehicles.
"I have already concealed my RPG weapon and returned to my current job at one of Baghdad district's municipality after we resisted the American occupation and its allied government of Nouri Al Maliki in self-defence. I am ready to go back and fight again if the circumstances required me to do that," Hamza Abu Zahra told Gulf News.
Many followers of Al Sadr want to retain weapons and others do not hesitate to buy new ones. Perhaps they fear for their lives, they noted.
In this context, Abu Ahmad Al Ka'abi, an Al Sadr activist, told Gulf News: "Not only has the American occupation aimed at undermining the Mahdi army; but there are other internal parties as Al Qaida and Iraqi government influential parties, thus we have to be ready to fight at any time. I believe that without the weapon we already have, there will be massacres."
Some local leaders in Al Sadr faction believe that there is another way to confront the Iraqi government.
Tahir Al Sa'adi told Gulf News: "More than 90 per cent of public and private transportation drivers and more than 90 per cent of Baghdad bakery shop owners are Al Sadr trend followers; therefore we must think of how best to confront the government instead of fighting or using weapons."
Green Zone: New attacks on area
Iraq's fortified Green Zone came under renewed attack yesterday, less than 24 hours after Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for his fighters to stand down following a week of clashes with government security forces.
The rocket or mortar attacks on the nerve centre of the US mission and the Iraqi government continued more than a week of near-daily fire mostly from Shiite-dominated areas of eastern Baghdad.
The number of rounds going into the zone has dropped in recent days, but the continuing attacks indicate that Al Sadr may not be able to rein in all Shiite militia factions.
The US Embassy said no serious injuries were reported.
-AP
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