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Violence Surges in Iraq

Josh Aldridge

The nine-month ceasefire in Iraq has ended with the decision by Prime Minister at Nouri al-Maliki to send 15,000 troops and policemen into Basra. The violence which broke out when the troops clashed with Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has spread to the "streets in Kut, Hilla, Amara, Kerbala, Nasiriyah, and Diwaniya, as well as into Sadr City in Baghdad, where militiamen have been raining rockets and mortars on the Green Zone".

The Iranian-backed militia has been growing in number since the Iraqi Government's refusal to set a time for U.S. troop withdrawal, and is now said to be 60,000 strong. Al-Sadr has reached out to both Sunni and Shia to force the destruction of the U.S. backed Iraqi Government and the continuation of resistance against the occupying force.

Two hundred twenty people have been killed since last Monday. Another 550 have been injured and the hospitals "are overflowing and understaffed."

In Basra, British troops have been supporting the Iraqi troops who have been struggling to take ground against the Iranian-backed militia. American jets have been in action supporting the Iraqi army and there is even talk of US troops being sent south into what has been a British-run zone. The ceasefire with al-Sadr has been an essential part of the success of US general David Petraeus's 'surge' - the deployment of an extra 28,000 American troops into Baghdad and nearby cities. Assured of quiet on the Shi'ite front, US forces have been free to concentrate on battling al Qaeda and Ba'athist insurgents among the Sunni community.

General Petraeus is set to testify before Congress April 8-9 facing the worst crisis since his control of Iraq. It is sure to bring Iraq into a central issue during a critical period of the Presidential General Election.

The video above is from The Real News archives entitled "Iraq Battle Deadlock"