US Moves in on al-Sadr militia As Deputy Governor of Najaf Resigns over US Terrorism

12 August 2004

The deputy governor of the restive Iraqi city of Najaf resigned on Thursday, August 12, in protest at the 'terrorist' acts of the US occupation forces as deadly raids into the holy city has left hundreds of Shiite fighters and civilians killed.

Jawdat Kazem Al-Kurashi said in a statement carried by Aljazeera satellite channel that he could not wait and see his homeland and Shiite holy shrines being desecrated by US forces.

"I strongly condemn such terrorist acts [of the US forces], which badly damaged our holy city and killed hundreds of civilians," he said.

Thousands of US forces stormed Najaf early on Thursday in a full-scale assault against Mahdi Army of Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr, whose followers have been battling occupation forces for eight consecutive days.

The fighting, a part of the Shiite uprising in several cities across central and southern Iraq is the second rebellion from the Mahdi Army in four months.

Najaf Governor Adnan Al-Zofri said on August 6 that US occupation forces killed 400 Iraqis and detained 1,000 others in the bloody clashes that erupted a day earlier.

The bloodbath in the holy city seemed to pit Iraqi officials against one another, who differed on how to end the crisis in Najaf. Iraq's interim deputy president Ibrahim Al-Jaafari urged on Wednesday for US troops to leave Najaf.

"I call for multinational forces to leave Najaf and for only Iraqi forces to remain there," Jaafari said in remarks broadcast on Al-Jazeera television.

"Iraqi forces can administer Najaf to end this phenomenon of violence in this city that is holy to all Muslims."Sadr renewed Wednesday his call for his supporters to keep fighting US occupation forces even if he was killed or captured.

"Keep fighting even if you see me a prisoner or a martyr. God willing you will be victorious."

165 Killed

The Iraqi health ministry said on Thursday that clashes across war-torn Iraq have left 165 people dead and nearly 600 wounded in the last 24 hours.

A ministry spokeswoman said 75 people were killed and 148 wounded from US bombing in the Shiite dominated Al-Sharkiya district of Kut, while 44 died and 164 were wounded in Baghdad clashes, mostly in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

She said the fighting at Najaf left 25 dead and 153 wounded, while 14 were killed and 77 wounded in Amara, and clashes in Diwaniya left seven dead and 52 wounded.

Sunni and Shiite leaders have slammed the bloodbath and called upon the international community to rein in the Americans.

"Such incidents are similar to the days of the former regime when Saddam Hussein used to commit mass killings, while they [the Americans] make public funerals," Spokesman for the Sunni Muslim Scholars Association Bashar Al-Faidi.

Major Offensive Launched

US forces, backed by helicopter gunships, launched a major offensive on the Iraqi holy city of Najaf as grinding battles between the occupation forces and Mahdi Army entered its second week.

Thousands of Najaf residents were fleeing the area around Imam Ali Shrine in the heart of the city, Reuters news agency reported.

A message in Arabic read out from Humvees said: "To the residents of Najaf: Coalition forces are purging the city of Mahdi Army."

US tanks were blocking all roads leading to Imam Ali shrine, one of Shiites’ holiest sites, as US aircraft and artillery pounded a nearby cemetery, a stronghold for Mahdi Army loyal to anti-occupation firebrand Moqtada Al-Sadr.

A series of explosions rocked the city on Thursday as fighting between US occupation forces and Mahdi Army entered a second week.

Witnesses said the crackle of machinegun fire echoed from the southern parts of the city as smoke rose from the area.

A senior official of Mahdi Army warned Wednesday night, August 11, that the Shiite fighters would blow up pipelines in the south if US forces launched the assault.

“If the US forces attacked Najaf, we will blow up the oil pipelines,” Sheikh Asaad Al-Basri, the leader of the Mahdi Army told Reuters.