Rival Shia forces still fighting in Karbala

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2003

Clashes between rival Shia militias erupted on Monday night and continued yesterday in the Shia holy city of Karbala, days after Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of one of the groups, declared the formation of a separate Iraqi government.

Police in Karbala said two people were killed and up to two dozen injured during riots on Monday night outside the Mukhayim mosque in Karbala, which Mr Sadr uses as a headquarters in the city.

The mosque was pock-marked with bullet holes and Mr Sadr's supporters gathered behind barricades next to the mosque yesterday, shouting insults and threats at police and journalists trying to enter the area.

Sheikh Mohammed Kinaani, a religious figure in Karbala, told reporters that Mr Sadr's forces, known as the Jaysh al-Mahdi, had tried to take over the shrine of Imam Hussein in the centre of town, one of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam. He said they had been repulsed by forces loyal to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, spiritual leader of a majority of Iraqi Shia.

Police had a different version, however. Mohammed Rida Hussein, a policeman standing guard in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein yesterday, said the dispute between backers of Seyd Akram Yasseri, the US-backed Karbala governor, and backers of Mr Sadr had started over the latter's arrest of a prominent sheikh known as Maytham on Saturday.

A demonstration by the sheikh's backers outside Mr Sadr's headquarters on Monday had turned violent, they said.

Tempers in Karbala seemed ready to flare again yesterday, as unarmed Jaysh members patrolled the town in military style formations, while police loyal to Mr Yasseri cradled Kalashnikov assault rifles and eyed them warily.

Mr Sadr tried to distance himself from the violence, telling journalists in Najaf yesterday that he blamed elements "acting in his name" for the violence. "Evil forces are co-operating to sow sectarian strife."

His group is the most radical of the Shia political parties in Iraq. On Saturday he announced the formation of a separate cabinet of ministers to challenge the US-backed Governing Council in Baghdad, which he accuses of being populated by American "agents".

"My government will open the door to . . . mass demonstrations that will eventually lead to a real government," he said.

Friction between local groups in Karbala and Mr Sadr's forces had been growing steadily over the weekend, when the Jaysh al-Mahdi turned out in force during a pilgrimage attended by hundreds of thousands of Iraq's Shia. The Jaysh are out-of-towners, mainly brought in by bus from Sadr City, a Baghdad slum where Mr Sadr has his strongest base of support.

US army units had surrounded Sadr City yesterday, checking vehicles exiting the neighbourhood for weapons.

By CHARLES CLOVER and NICOLAS PELHAM