Three British killed in Basra, now in the hands of militant’s
Basra (AsiaNews) – The administration and management of the Basra’s oil reserves is sliding into the hands of Shiite militia’s, the provincial government is increasingly impotent and British troops present on the round are finding themselves increasingly the target of terrorist attacks. This was how a recent report by the International Crises Group has depicted the situation in southern Iraq. The latest episode of violence in the second biggest city in the country has confirmed this report: a bomb placed on the side of the road killed 3 British soldiers, while their convoy was passing. Great Britain who patrols the area has recently reduced troop levels in Iraq from 7 thousand to 5,500.
Anonymous sources quoted by the Iraqi daily Azzaman, declare that the city “is under the hegemony of militias who do not run its streets only but have imposed levies and taxes on oil output”. Other intelligence sources say that “It may be too late for Prime Minister Nouri al-Naliki to restore control of Basra”.
Militants still faithful to the Shiite political parties have sub-divided the areas of the city among themselves. International Crisis Group’s report, published June 25, states that Basra police is under the sway of the Mehdi Army of fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, while the intelligence service is influenced by the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, previously the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), and the Oil Protection Force was controlled by Fadhila (Islamic Virtue Party).
According to Azzaman, border points are no longer under the control of government troops and so are the city ports through which a sizeable portion of the country’s imports comes, are open to Iranian influence. The daily warns that “The Oil Ministry’s supervision and administration of oil fields, terminals and a major refinery is only symbolic with militias in actual control of Basra’s oil industry”.
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