Armed conflict in Najaf shows no signs of abating. Its outcome could determine the fate of Iraq, reports Ahmed Mukhtar The short lulls in fighting reveal Najaf as a city largely deserted, particularly in the old quarters. Shops and businesses remain closed. The few people who venture out on foot can be seen clearing rubble, seemingly unaware of the rattle of nearby machine-gun fire. They are there to save their property from being looted during the chaos that has engulfed the holy city during the past week. All power, water and telephone lines have been severed and the city is quickly becoming a ghost town. The fighting in Najaf broke out last Thursday shortly after Adnan Al-Zurfi, the city's governor, appealed for an additional police force to protect Najaf's police station against attacks launched by Moqtada Al-Sadr's militia. According to Ahmed Al- Shibani, Al-Sadr's representative in Najaf, the fighting began when US troops surrounded Al-Sadr's headquarters, thereby provoking Al-Sadr's supporters. Fighting was sporadic in some parts of the city, but fierce battles raged in Wadi Al-Salam cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in the world. It came under heavy fire from both American and Iraqi forces. Members of Al-Sadr's militia left the cemetery, where they had taken up positions to launch rockets and grenades, after three days of intense bombardment. Meanwhile, US Marines along with the Iraqi police and National Guard captured large caches of weapons in the cemetery, including rocket-propelled grenades and explosive-making materials. Speaking to reporters at a Marine base on the outskirts of Najaf, Col John Mayer, who led the battalion in the fighting, said that Al-Sadr's militia had used the cemetery as an operating base, violating the conditions of a truce negotiated in June after a two-month uprising that left hundreds dead. Continued fighting has angered Shia political and religious figures who expressed great concern about the destructive battles and the armed presence of Al- Sadr's militia and the US military in the holiest Shia city. Albayt Al-Shii (The Shia House), an umbrella organisation of various Shia political movements headed by Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, threatened to boycott next week's Iraqi National Conference unless the crisis with Al-Sadr is settled peacefully. A statement issued by the organisation denounced the military escalation of the US-led occupation troops and accused them of "provocative acts" that incited Al-Sadr's followers and led to the bloodshed. The organisation called on the troops to cease operations and uphold the truce. Abdul-Karim Al-Enzi, a member of the Al-Dawa Party's politburo, described Al-Sadr as "an Iraqi leader with broad-based support" and criticised the role played by Iraqi forces in the battles. "The role of the Iraqi army is to defend Iraq against external danger and not to fight the sons of the country," said Al-Enzi. In an attempt to solicit UN mediation efforts and come to a ceasefire, Al-Sadr's Baghdad representatives met with Jamal Benomar, a UN official. "They are keen to meet with the government and come to a settlement," Benomar said. Yet there was little sign a ceasefire would be accepted by the Iraqi government and American commanders. Instead, indications are that both American and Iraqi security forces want to put an end to Al- Sadr's militia through military force. This sentiment was reinforced by US military sources who admitted there was no immediate expectation of a ceasefire. "We're going to continue operations," said one US military source. "We are not negotiating at this point." But the source added that political decisions were "for the Iraqi premier not for American commanders to make". In spite of Iraqi premier Allawi's calls to Shia fighters to lay down their weapons and leave the holy city of Najaf on Sunday, the militia fortified their positions around an ancient cemetery. Shibani denounced Allawi, saying if he were a true Shia Muslim, he would not participate in the US-backed interim government. "He should support the Islamic resistance, whether it is Al-Sadr or any other resistance," Shibani said. Iraqi Health Ministry officials said they were unable to set an exact casualty figure due to the continuation of fighting. US Marines said Friday they had killed 300 militiamen in Najaf. However, a militia spokesman put the losses at 36 dead. Iraqi observers believe that much now depends on the outcome of the battles in Najaf. The central question, they say, is whether or not the decision to confront Al-Sadr's militia in the holiest Shia city will provoke a potentially crippling backlash against Allawi's interim government.
