Chaotic conditions continue in holy cites of Karbala and Najaf
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Karbala, May 18, IRNA -- IRNA reporters in Iraq`s two holiest cites, Karbala, and Najaf, reported the continuation of most chaotic conditions there during the daylight hours of Monday, and long after sunset. Various Iraqi resistance forces, including extremist Shi`a cleric Moqtada Sadr`s Al-Mahdi Army, exchanged heavy fire with U.S.-led coalition forces throughout Monday in many streets and districts of those two cities and other Iraqi cities. In Karbala, according to IRNA correspondent, the armed clashes extended to the vicinity of Imam Hussain`s holy shrine, and the exhausted and anxious residents of the city, who despite U.S. armed forces` recommendation to leave the city have remained there, were silent witnesses to the heavy clashes. During the Monday clashes between Al-Mahdi Army and U.S. forces, that were still going on at the time this report was being dispatched, the U.S. forces proceeded to the outer walls of Imam Hussain`s holy mausoleum. The U.S. forces` military engagements in Karbala are taking place despite numerous warnings issued by Iraqi Shi`a sources that the dimensions of war should not be extended to include Iraq`s two holiest cites of Najaf and Karbala. The civilian U.S. administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer, and U.S. military commanders based in Iraq, too, had earlier announced in various occasions that the U.S.-led coalition forces are not willing to enter those two cities, and know they have to respect their sanctity. Currently, heavily armed U.S. military forces are stationed all around Imam Hussain`s shrine with their armored vehicles and tanks moving back and forth, while the U.S army`s helicopters keep flying over the holy shrines of Abolfazl (PBUH) and Imam Hussain (PBUH) form where they shoot at Al-Mahdi Army`s combatants. A cab driver resident of Karbala, Abu Ali, told IRNA he was seriously upset over the fact that Karbala`s holy shrines have become the embarkments of armed forces in their combats against the occupation forces. He said, "The ordinary people are fed up with such unfortunate conditions and wish the clashes would either end very soon, or at least their location would be shifted to a place outside their holy city." IRNA correspondent in Najaf, too, reports that ever since the beginning of the armed clashes, the city streets were suddenly turned into ghosts` dwelling, with most Najafi residents taking refuge in their homes, facing problems with finding food and their other natural and immediate needs, such as medicare. There is absolutely not traffic in the city, save for the passage of the U.S. military vehicles and tanks, the shops and public services` are shut down, and the streets that were quite busy with pedestrians and pilgrims, are paved merely by resistance fighters, and their enemies, the U.S. forces, each group trying to hunt the other. Rubbery and bandit bands, too, have become active in Najaf during the past days, and according to eye witnesses, even the holy shrines of the city have been looted by them in a number of occasions. Holy city of Najaf, and particularly the holy shrine of Imam Ali (PBUH), too, are practically evacuated from pilgrims, save for a few number of Iraqi and Afghan pilgrims, who have ventured to stay and braved the war atmosphere. Nervous and worried Najaf residents keep inquiring about the latest developments in their city from each other and the press representatives, and one of their main, and often asked questions is whether the dimensions of the clashes would further extend to other parts of their occupied cities, and Iraq. Keeping in mind the mediation of the sources of jurisprudence to give an end to the clashes, the Najaf residents` other question is whether such mediation would bear any fruit. In Nasseriyyeh, six Italian soldiers were injured on Monday, one seriously, in clashes with Shiite militiamen, according to Italy`s ANSA news agency. Officials earlier said 28 people were wounded when a shell hit a market in the center of Nasseriyyeh where the Italians and the militiamen of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr still exchange fire. Two Iraqis were killed and 15 wounded during clashes in the Shi`a holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, which is a relatively low figure compared to the past five days of the heavy clashes in those two holy cities. Some 15 US tanks made a brief foray into the city center, as 1,000 marched at the request of another hardline cleric to protest against coalition attacks. Following the death of one U.S. soldier in a roadside bombing, the U.S. death toll in Iraq rose to 782, the coalition said. Iraqi lawmakers also hastened to reject the specter of a pullout, saying a military withdrawal by the US-led coalition would be unthinkable in the short to medium term. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which sits on the Governing Council, strangely echoed concerns over June 30 withdrwal of the U.S.-led occupation, arguing, "A withdrawal would cause grave security problems." NA/210
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