Saturday, Sep 6, 2008
Hours after a deal was struck, armed Mahdi army forces are back in Najaf -- abetted by fresh volunteers.
May 28, 2004 | An Orwellian "peace" has descended upon Najaf. On Friday afternoon, the day after a peace agreement with the U.S. forces was announced, armed Mahdi army fighters were occupying all their usual posts. The men had retrieved their rifles and grenade launchers, which they had hidden away when the peace deal was announced, and were carefully watching people move through the city, asking visiting foreigners for their documents. Failure to produce the correct document can lead to immediate arrest.
According to the surprise peace agreement, worked out between the tribal authorities and the opposing sides, the Mahdi army was to permanently put down its weapons and withdraw from the city. In return, the United States promised to honor the cease-fire and suspend operations, pulling back to bases near Najaf. Iraqi police, not U.S. forces or militiamen, were supposed to return and guarantee order.
But as of Friday afternoon, the Mahdi army had made no move to withdraw or lay down its weapons, leaving the most important part of the peace plan in ruins. U.S. tanks usually parked near the police station at the Revolution of 1920 Square could not be seen. Despite much hopeful talk, Najaf has not been returned to civilian authorities: It is still under the aegis of the militants and the secretive Sharia court they use to deliver sentences.
Also on Friday, fighting between U.S. forces and the Mahdi army broke out in Kufa, which adjoins Najaf. Three people died and eight were wounded, hospital staff said.
Thursday in the holy city was a day of intricate theater that seemed engineered both to court the press and intimidate the people of Najaf. Men hoisted on the shoulders of their comrades recited poetry and sang heroic songs dedicated to Muqtada al-Sadr. Other fighters carried portraits of their leader and shouted out their loyalty, offering to become martyrs for him. What might have seemed like jubilation at the possibility of peace with the U.S. military was closer to a rallying cry to the faithful.
Unarmed Mahdi army fighters carried the flag-draped coffins of four comrades through the square in front of the shrine of Ali, parading the coffins in front of banners with hopeful political messages. But as soon as night fell, and cameras weren't rolling, the weapons came back into sight and the fighters sang and danced with rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs. This is a well-known Mahdi army practice, to hide weapons to appease the opposition for a day or two, then retrieve them when it is time for a show of force.
Ordinary citizens steered clear of the square in front of the shrine. When asked about the negotiations, one young fighter named Alawi said, "Maybe the fighters who are not from here will leave the city. They will go home and wait for instructions." Then, after a moment or two he said, "No, we will never leave Najaf."
Alawi had come down from Sadr City to join the resistance and had retreated with Mahdi army forces from Karbala a few days earlier. He was in high spirits when he talked about the future. Wednesday and Thursday nights were quiet and no shelling could be heard from the old city.
A thin militia man at a checkpoint across from the Ayatollah al-Sistani's house said on Thursday, "We have no orders to leave our posts. We will not leave Najaf until there is a direct order." They said they have not received any such order. As night fell on Thursday, Mahdi fighters picked up their weapons and went to their usual posts at the entrances to the old city.
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