19 Protestors Killed by Coalition Soldiers in Najaf

[Eli]

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=B878DF92-9997-4D57-9B153BA6CE0C206D

Coalition troops and Iraqi police fired on a crowd of Shi'ite protesters near the city of Najaf. Hospital officials said several people were killed and dozens injured.


Supporters of the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been staging demonstrations for several days. But the protests turned violent when Spanish-led troops and Iraqi police opened fire near a coalition base in the town of Kufa.

Many are angry over the alleged detention of a top aide to the cleric, Mustafa al-Yacoubi. Spanish troops in charge of security around Najaf say they have not been involved in any such operation.

The protests began last week in response to the U.S. decision to close down a newspaper headed by al-Sadr, an outspoken cleric known for his harsh criticism of America. U.S. officials closed the newspaper's offices on March 28 because, they said, it was inciting violence against the coalition.

Shi'ite demonstrators shouting anti-American slogans also took to the streets in Baghdad, gathering at the entrance to coalition headquarters and in the square where the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled last year.

Discuss.

[The Mad Monk]

Nuts.

[yaroslav]

Spain media is reporting that 3 soldiers from Honduras and one american official have been killed.

[Urban Ranger]

Not good. Not good at all.

[GePap]

The killed were four soldiers from El Salvador, and I think some Iraqi troops in the compound as well, and 14 protestors, though the protestors were firing against the compound-they were protesting the detention of an aide to Sadr.

[joncha]

But don't worry... things are getting better in Iraq.

IT'S A SUCCESS STORY, I TELLS YOU!

[yaroslav]

Oh, it was El Salvador. I'm sorry for the confusion. I was writting from memory.... and my short-term memory is very bad.

[Tripledoc]

The irony would be if it was some other members of the coalition who had detained the top aide, but failed to inform the rest.

But why did the demonstrators specifically go to the Spanish compund, and just now? This is not a co-incidence.

[GePap]

How is it not coincidence?

This probably happens to be the biggest compound in the Najaf area that the protestors decided to go after-this area of Iraq is under the international forces led by Poland, not under UK or US forces.

[Thorgal]

Protestors thought that the shiite leader Mohamed Al Yacub was prisoner in the spanish compound. It seems there are only a soldier of El Salvador and an officer from USA killed. 14 soldiers wonded none of them spanish.

[DanS]

According to the BBC poll released a couple of weeks ago, al Sadr doesn't have much support among the population. It seems like a good time to marginalize him and his armed band of thugs.

It's a shame the protestors became violent. We don't want to be shooting protestors.

[Sava]

Violent Disturbances Wrack Iraq From Baghdad to Southern Cities
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

AGHDAD, April 4 — Iraq was wracked today by its most violent civil disturbances since the occupation started, with a coordinated Shiite uprising spreading across the country, from the slums of Baghdad to several cities in the south.

By day's end, witnesses said Shiite militiamen controlled the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, with armed men loyal to a radical cleric occupying the town's police stations and checkpoints. More than eight people were killed by Spanish forces in a similar uprising in the neighboring town of Najaf.

In Baghdad, American tanks battled militiamen loyal to Moqtada Al Sadr, the radical cleric who has denounced the occupation and has an army of thousands of young followers.

At nightfall today, the Sadr City neighborhood shook with explosions and tank and machine gun fire. Black smoke choked the sky. The streets were lined with armed militiamen, dressed in all black. American tanks surrounded the area. Attack helicopters thundered overhead.

"The occupation is over!" people on the streets yelled. "We are now controlled by Sadr. The Americans should stay out."

Witnesses said Mr. Sadr's militiamen had tried to take over three police stations in Sadr City, a poor, mostly Shiite neighborhood north of central Baghdad named after Mr. Sadr's father.

Doctors at Baghdad hospitals reported that several people were wounded in the fighting but there were no details on casualties.

Franco Pagetti, an Italian photographer, said he was caught in the crossfire and witnessed several American tanks firing into the streets.

"The tanks were shooting into the pavement, not at the height of the people," Mr. Pagetti said. "It looked like they were trying to clear the streets."

Mr. Pagetti also said he had watched a group of militiamen launch three rocket propelled grenades at American Humvees but the militiamen had missed each time.

"The situation is getting worse," Mr. Pagetti said. "I saw injured people getting put in cars. The people said they had been wounded by American helicopters."

As the fighting raged, Mr. Sadr called on his followers to "terrorize" the enemy as demonstrations were no longer any use. Last week, his weekly newspaper, Hawza, was shut down by American authorities after it had been accused of inciting violence. The closure began a week of protests that grew bigger and more unruly at each turn.

"There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions, and despises peoples," Mr. Sadr said in a statement distributed by his office in Kufa today.

"I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways," he told his followers. "Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."

apparantly this is larger, coordinated effort http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/in...D-IRAQ.html?hp

oh but wait, everything is fine in Iraq...

[MOBIUS]

The new Falluja?

Iraq protests end in 20 deaths

Didn't the violence start there after a crowd slaughter by US forces?

Seems the friendly Shi'ites are getting more militant.

I expect this can only serve to hasten the removal of Spanish forces from this area...

[Dis]

I really don't think closing down the newspaper was a good idea. They are trying to form a free society after all. There had to be a better way to deal with that situation.

[Sandman]

I'm not going to mute my criticism here:

Closing down that newspaper, as well as being hypocritical, was an act of utter stupidity that has now claimed several lives.