Inside Iraq blog: Delivering aid to Sadr City

Iraqi forces aim to be in complete control of Sadr City within 24 hours after some 10,000 troops, backed by tanks, pushed deep into the Baghdad Shia slum in an unprecedented operation.

Militiamen who have clashed with US and Iraqi soldiers over the past few weeks melted away as the Iraqi Army took control of the streets in the impoverished slum for the first time since the 2003 invasion.

“We didn't face any resistance or armed aggression. The only challenge was the roadside bombs,” an Iraqi military spokesman said.

Soldiers removed 50 such devices during the course of the day as they manoeuvred past burnt out buildings and bullet-scarred walls, a testament to the pitched battles that have left hundreds of civilians and militants dead.

“The operation will continue tomorrow. We expect to be controlling all parts of Sadr City by tomorrow morning,” said spokesman Colonel Qassim Abdul Raheem of the 11th Iraqi Army division, which operates in east Baghdad.

Much-needed food, water and medical supplies as well as other humanitarian assistance will also start to be delivered to hospitals and families in the newly-retaken parts of Sadr City, he added.

Until now, Iraqi forces had only distributed aid to the southern third of the district, which the US and Iraqi military took charge of at the end of March, in a move that triggered seven weeks of fighting as they built a long wall to seal the area off.

The US military carried out repeated airstrikes with Hellfire missiles, while militants launched barrage after barrage of rockets at the fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi Government and the US and British embassies.

A fragile ceasefire between the main Shia political bloc and supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the cleric whose al-Mahdi Army militia have controlled Sadr City for the past five years, was finally agreed 10 days ago.

Fighting had continued despite the truce, but for today the guns lay silent. US forces kept well back, taking no part in the push, dubbed ‘Operation Peace’, with fewer US aircraft evident above the district than on previous days.

Residents in the teeming slum of some two million people expressed surprise at the sight of Iraqi tanks and troops outside their front door and on the main road.

“They were deployed everywhere in the city without any fighting or clashes,” said Hider Gassi, a 38-year-old football coach.

“The general situation is quiet today. Mehdi Army fighters just disappeared. Those who remain are not carrying their guns,” he told The Times.

Streets were crowded with people going about their usual business among the ruins of buildings damaged in the fighting.

In a sign of mutual consent to the operation, a spokesman for the Sadr movement said that the presence of Iraqi troops in the Mahdi Army stronghold was in line with the ceasefire.

"The forces have a right to enter and ensure law and order,” said Salah al-Obeidi. He noted, however, that there had been a violation yesterday when US troops arrested several Sadr City residents.

The long-anticipated operation comes almost two months after Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, launched an offensive in Basra, the other no-go Shia area in Iraq that was also largely controlled by the Mehdi Army militia.

That operation, criticised at the time for being rushed and poorly planned, eventually bore fruit, with Government forces, supported by British and US troops, taking charge of the southern oil hub.

The battle for Basra also triggered widespread fighting between Shia militants and US and Iraqi troops throughout the south up to Baghdad, igniting the renewed conflict in Sadr City, which has always been a trouble spot.

Gaining control of Sadr City would mark another symbolic victory for Mr Maliki, himself a Shia Arab, who was sworn in as Prime Minister exactly two years ago.

Some people suspect, however, that the apparent successes in Basra and Sadr City are forged on a compromise with the Mahdi Army. They say that the militia has not been beaten but it instead simply chose not to resist, and could still pose a threat in the future if it chose.

In addition, US commanders believe that Iranian-backed splinter groups of the Mahdi Army that no longer listen to Moqtada al-Sadr, its leader, are the main culprits behind the hostilities.

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