On a Baghdad Street, Palpable Despair

Attacks on Karrada have increased in the past week. The Mahdi Army, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the main rival of Maliki and the Supreme Council, has been firing mortar rounds and rockets into the Green Zone across the Tigris River. But many shells and rockets have also struck Karrada, an enclave peppered with posters of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council. Sadr's followers say their rivals are trying to weaken them politically ahead of provincial elections later this year.

And so inevitably, conversation turned to politics and conflict.

"He rushed," Radhi said, referring to Maliki's decision to launch the offensive last week. "He should have sat at a table and negotiated, and solved the crisis."

"It's all for the oil in Basra," said Muthanna Hadhi, 46, a vegetable seller.

"Four days ago, a mortar killed a small girl near here," said Ahmed Mahmoud, 45, a fish seller.

Radhi listened to his friends. He had heard their laments all week. He stood up, said goodbye and walked away, passing two empty carts.

The carts belonged to Hadhi and Mahmoud. They have not gone to the wholesale market in a week because of the battles in Baghdad's Shiite districts.

"We can't leave Karrada," said Hadhi, a slim man with a stubbly beard.

The market was in the Dora neighborhood, once a haven for Sunni extremists, he explained. A year ago, Shiites like him feared to go there. Now, he fears going to certain Shiite areas, where being perceived as part of the wrong political party can lead to death. "Dora is safer than Shiite neighborhoods now," he said.

The curfew imposed Friday was supposed to end Sunday morning. Hadhi woke up at 5 a.m. to go to the wholesale market. But as he tried to leave Karrada, a policeman stopped him and told him that the curfew had been extended. "I was so frustrated," Hadhi said.

"When they impose a curfew, it shows there's no effective government," Mahmoud said.

"Everything is going downhill, day by day," Hadhi agreed.