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Iraqis blame brits for sectarian divisions

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   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/23/wirq23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/23/ixnewstop.html

"They are in bed with Mossad [the Israeli intelligence service] and their intention is to keep Iraq an unstable battlefield so they can exploit their interests in Iraq." But Mr Daraji insisted that Sadr was not going to call for a Shia uprising in Basra, where he enjoys only a limited, if growing, following in the city's slums.

"We have to take the moral high ground and resist this provocation by the British," he said. "This is a very dangerous, very sensitive time in Iraq but we must calm our supporters or we will fall into the British trap."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/23/wirq23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/23/ixnewstop.html

Shia militia fires up anti-British hatred after SAS rescue
By Adrian Blomfield in Baghdad
(Filed: 23/09/2005)

The Shia militia accused of taking two SAS soldiers hostage in Basra this week sought to stoke growing anti-British sentiment in southern Iraq yesterday by accusing London of masterminding terrorist attacks in the country.

The smear campaign is another blow to the British Army's hopes of restoring its affection among locals and its previously good relationship with Basra's administration - two factors that have distinguished the British-controlled south from Iraq's chaotic Sunni Arab provinces.

Relations with Iraqi authorities in the country's second city sank to their lowest level after Basra's governing council announced it was ending all co-operation with British forces in response to Monday's rescue of the two soldiers.

Basra's governor, Mohammed al-Wa'eli, accused Britain of "imperial arrogance".

He told Reuters news agency: "The governing council has decided to stop all co-operation with the British until they meet three demands. To apologise for what happened, to guarantee that it does not happen again, and third, to provide some compensation for all the damage they did during the operation."

British diplomats expressed hope that a compromise could be found, saying the conditions were "not insurmountable".

A British embassy spokesman in Basra said: "We've had two and a half years of fantastic relations. The conditions they have laid out shouldn't be a problem.

''We regret the disturbances to the people of Basra but the situation demanded the response. British lives were in danger, civil authority had broken down and there was a serious danger they had been handed over to Shia militia."

British Warrior armoured vehicles punched holes in the wall of a police station where the two men were initially held and then destroyed a building belonging to the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army where they were later transferred. Senior aides of Sadr, who twice led bloody uprisings against American forces in the south last year, sought to capitalise on a rumour that has gained widespread acceptance in Basra that the two men were Israeli spies caught trying to plant bombs.

Abdel Hadi al-Daraji, the cleric's top official in his main bastion, the sprawling Sadr City slums of Baghdad, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain was plotting to start an ethnic war by carrying out mass-casualty bombings targeting Shia civilians and then blaming the attacks on Sunni Arab groups.

"Everyone knows the occupiers' agenda," insisted Mr Daraji, who is currently the only Mahdi army official authorised to speak directly on Sadr's behalf.

"They are in bed with Mossad [the Israeli intelligence service] and their intention is to keep Iraq an unstable battlefield so they can exploit their interests in Iraq." But Mr Daraji insisted that Sadr was not going to call for a Shia uprising in Basra, where he enjoys only a limited, if growing, following in the city's slums.

"We have to take the moral high ground and resist this provocation by the British," he said. "This is a very dangerous, very sensitive time in Iraq but we must calm our supporters or we will fall into the British trap."

Sadr has been keen to cultivate a degree of legitimacy since he agreed to join the political process last year. But he has recently come out in opposition to a new constitution and some western diplomats say he is again trying to stir up his followers.

"He is basically trying to keep them just under boiling point so that, if he chooses the road of violence, they will jump when he gives the command," a diplomat in Baghdad said.

Sadr yesterday sent an envoy, Mudhafar al-Moussawi, to the south, ostensibly with orders to calm his supporters. But the envoy's message, delivered on radio broadcasts, was far from calming. He described this week's incidents in Basra as "a second Abu Ghraib". He also called on the British people to rise up and "overthrow the terrorist government of Tony Blair''. In many ways, Sadr does not need to start an uprising in Basra. He already enjoys a disproportionate degree of influence on both the police force and the city's administration.

The Jameat police station where the two soldiers were originally held is under the control of the internal affairs and serious crimes unit, the most influential department in Basra's police force - and the most heavily penetrated by the Mahdi army.

Sadr will also be convinced that the withdrawal of co-operation from the Basra administration will effectively corral British troops in barracks, solidifying the Mahdi army's control of the city.

Although British soldiers have maintained a much lower profile in Basra since Monday, joint patrols with the police have not been entirely suspended.




2 british soldiers caught trying to plant explosives { September 20 2005 }
Basra crisis talks as tensions rise { September 21 2005 }
Basra jail after brits ap [jpg]
Basra seized [jpg]
Bbc article twists truth and blames insurgents { September 21 2005 }
British attack basra jail to free two
British commandos fired on iraqi police { September 19 2005 }
British destroy rogue basra police hq { November 2006 }
British free 76 iraqis from basra police head quarters { December 26 2006 }
British soldiers dressed like arabs fired on police patrol { September 19 2005 }
British special service pays insurgency in cash { August 28 2005 }
British special services men dressed as arab men
British tanks spring prisoners in iraq { September 19 2005 }
British vehicles cash into basra jail { September 19 2005 }
Brits abandon burning tank { August 2005 } [jpg]
Brits dressed as iraqis fire at police { September 20 2005 }
Brits equipment confiscated [jpg]
Brits planned explosions to blame on alsadr { September 22 2005 }
Brits to leave basra { February 21 2007 }
Captured brits footage still [jpg]
Confiscated from two british soldiers [jpg]
Confiscated from two british soldiers2 [jpg]
Friend or foe challenge in basra { September 21 2005 }
Insurgents turn out to be brits { August 2005 }
Iraq judge seeks arrest of freed british soldiers
Iraqi police arrested over sas kidnapping { November 2006 }
Iraqi police protest after british raid { August 2005 }
Iraqis blame brits for sectarian divisions
Iraq_burning_tank_cp_8477479 [jpg]
News clips of events in basra undercover brits { September 19 2005 }
Sas agents in brought in explosives from iran
Sas officers held in basra [jpg]
Soldiers in flames abandon burning tank
Two britons detained for firing at police
Undercover britons held after basra shootings { September 19 2005 }
Undercover brits captured in basra [jpg]
Undercover brits detained after shootout { September 20 2005 }
Violence after brit army assault freeing undercover brits { September 20 2005 }

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