Maliki vows Basra battle with militia will be 'to the end'

IRAQ: Iraq's prime minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged yesterday that security forces would battle Shia militia in Basra "to the end", despite huge demonstrations to demand his resignation.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr remained in control of much of Basra, Iraq's main oil hub, defying a three-day government offensive that has led to violence spreading across the south and Baghdad.

Saboteurs blew up one of Iraq's two main oil export pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the southern oilfields, a Southern Oil Company official said. US oil prices briefly rose more than $1 a barrel.

Mr Maliki, who has travelled to Basra to oversee the crackdown, told tribal leaders it was sending "a message to all gangs that the state is in charge of the country".

"We entered this battle with determination and we will continue to the end. No retreat! No talks! No negotiations!"

More than 130 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since the government began the operation on Tuesday, exposing deep divisions between powerful factions within Iraq's majority Shia community.

The clashes have all but wrecked a truce declared last August by Sadr.

The government says it is fighting "outlaws", but Sadr's followers say political parties in Mr Maliki's government are using force to marginalise rivals ahead of local elections due by October.

President George Bush praised Mr Maliki's "boldness" in launching the operation and said it showed the Iraqi leader's commitment to "enforce the law in an even-handed manner".

Tens of thousands of Sadr supporters marched in Baghdad in a massive show of force for the cleric, demanding Mr Maliki's removal. In the vast Sadr City slum, named after the cleric's slain father, crowds of angry men chanted slogans.

Demonstrations were also held in the Kadhimiya and Shula districts, among the largest anti-government protests Mr Maliki's government has faced. An interior ministry source said hundreds of thousands took part.

- (Reuters)

© 2008 The Irish Times

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