- News>
- World
Iraq on the brink of turmoil with Najaf assasination
Baghdad, Aug 31: The assassination of a top cleric in Najaf has pushed Iraq`s Shi`ites to the edge after months of restraint as his body arrived in Baghdad.
Baghdad, Aug 31: The assassination of a top cleric in Najaf has pushed Iraq's Shi'ites to the edge after months of restraint as his body arrived in Baghdad.
The assassination of a top cleric in Najaf has pushed Iraq's Shi'ites to the edge, after months of restraint. Thousands marched across Baghdad on Saturday (August 30) to the palace complex housing the U.S.-led administration struggling to replace chaos with stability in postwar Iraq.
As usual, they were orderly, chanting spiritual slogans and beating their chests in unison as American soldiers looked on from behind sandbags.
Shi'ites warned of dire consequences if their leaders or shrines were attacked again after a car bomb killed moderate senior cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim and more than 90 followers after his last Friday (August 29) sermon.
Hakim's body arrived in Baghdad and one cleric told reporters his funeral would begin in Baghdad on Sunday (August 31) morning and later move on to Najaf.
It seems the devastating combination of his murder and the fact that it took place just outside the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest sites for Shi'ites, unleashed pent up emotions from Iraq's majority sect.
His enraged friends suggested revenge options, such as Jihad (holy struggle), shootings, or bombings. Shi'ites were the patient planners in postwar Iraq despite decades of torture and repression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni- dominated government.
Instead of seeking revenge, they provided social services in slums and urged followers to pursue a peaceful path to power in a country where many had predicted a civil war between volatile sects once Saddam's tight grip on power came to an end.
Although radical Shi'ite clerics such as Moqtada al-Sadr denounced Hakim as a sell-out to Iraq's American occupiers, many Shi'ites blame Saddam loyalists and foreign Muslim militants for the bloodshed in Najaf.
Their anger is mounting at U.S. troops, who are busy protecting themselves from deadly guerrilla attacks and have little idea of the Shi'ite rivalries gripping the gritty alleys of the holy city.
At a news conference Charles Heatley, spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority said a balance of who provides security is needed.
"So it has always been a question of striking the balance between the desire of the local people particularly the religious leadership for us not to play a prominent role and while making sure they have what they need in order to take control of the security themselves," Heatley said.
U.S. Colonel Guy Shields said that intelligence is needed to provide the best security. "Dedicated terrorists have in the past found a way through some of the tightest security possible. With that we will continue to look at that and basically intelligence will be the key," Shields said at the news conference.
The shock of Hakim's murder has deepened Shi'ite suspicions that rival sects and foreign countries hostile to Iraq are bent on destroying them.
After Hakim returned from exile in Iran in May, he delivered an emotional speech to thousands of followers who watched him weep with joy. Those happy memories have faded. Hakim has joined other assassinated clerics whose posters hang across buildings in holy Najaf.
Bureau Report
It seems the devastating combination of his murder and the fact that it took place just outside the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest sites for Shi'ites, unleashed pent up emotions from Iraq's majority sect.
His enraged friends suggested revenge options, such as Jihad (holy struggle), shootings, or bombings. Shi'ites were the patient planners in postwar Iraq despite decades of torture and repression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni- dominated government.
Instead of seeking revenge, they provided social services in slums and urged followers to pursue a peaceful path to power in a country where many had predicted a civil war between volatile sects once Saddam's tight grip on power came to an end.
Although radical Shi'ite clerics such as Moqtada al-Sadr denounced Hakim as a sell-out to Iraq's American occupiers, many Shi'ites blame Saddam loyalists and foreign Muslim militants for the bloodshed in Najaf.
Their anger is mounting at U.S. troops, who are busy protecting themselves from deadly guerrilla attacks and have little idea of the Shi'ite rivalries gripping the gritty alleys of the holy city.
At a news conference Charles Heatley, spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority said a balance of who provides security is needed.
"So it has always been a question of striking the balance between the desire of the local people particularly the religious leadership for us not to play a prominent role and while making sure they have what they need in order to take control of the security themselves," Heatley said.
U.S. Colonel Guy Shields said that intelligence is needed to provide the best security. "Dedicated terrorists have in the past found a way through some of the tightest security possible. With that we will continue to look at that and basically intelligence will be the key," Shields said at the news conference.
The shock of Hakim's murder has deepened Shi'ite suspicions that rival sects and foreign countries hostile to Iraq are bent on destroying them.
After Hakim returned from exile in Iran in May, he delivered an emotional speech to thousands of followers who watched him weep with joy. Those happy memories have faded. Hakim has joined other assassinated clerics whose posters hang across buildings in holy Najaf.
Bureau Report