Iraq Fires Policemen, Soldiers

1,300 Refused to Fight During Clashes

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Residents look at the damage after their house was hit during an air strike in eastern Baghdad, Saturday, April 12, 2008. The U.S. military says security forces have killed at least 13 militants in overnight clashes in eastern Baghdad. (AP Photo/Ali KJ) (Ali Kj - AP)

Residents gather around a crater created after an air strike in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad, Saturday, April 12, 2008. The U.S. military says security forces have killed at least 13 militants in overnight clashes in eastern Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Residents wait in hope of identifying some of their missing relatives among retrieved bodies that were found in a mass grave in Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, Saturday, April. 12, 2008. Iraqi soldiers acting on tips from detained Shiite militia fighters found 14 bodies Saturday that had been buried in a field south of Baghdad, officials and witnesses said. It was the second discovery this week of mass graves in the area, raising to 44 the number of bodies found by the Iraqi troops. (AP Photo/Loay Hameed) (Loay Hameed - AP)

Residents wait at the site of a mass grave, in hope of identifying some of their missing relatives among retrieved bodies that were found in a mass grave in Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, Saturday, April 12, 2008. Iraqi soldiers acting on tips from detained Shiite militia fighters found 14 bodies Saturday that had been buried in a field south of Baghdad, officials and witnesses said. It was the second discovery this week of mass graves in the area, raising to 44 the number of bodies found by the Iraqi troops. (AP Photo/Loay Hameed) (Loay Hameed - AP)

In this photo taken with a video camera, an Iraqi Civil Defense team tries to put out a fire after a bombing in Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, April 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci - AP)

British Army's soldiers built sand barriers in Basra, Iraq, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Sunday April 13, 2008. The Iraqi army says it had started carrying out "the second phase of operations" by conducting a sweep of the city's Qibla district, looking for illegal weapons, ammunition and wanted criminals. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani) (Nabil Al-jurani - AP)

Iraqi man with a horse drawn cart passes a checkpoint on his way to the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad, Sunday, April 13, 2008. On Saturday Iraqi authorities lifted a two-week ban on vehicle movement in Baghdad's Sadr City. Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he will not enter any political process that would allow U.S. forces to remain in Iraq. (AP PhotoKarim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Members of Sadr's office carry a coffin during a symbolic funeral procession for Riyadh al-Nouri, brother-in-law of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad, Saturday, April 12, 2008. Riyadh al-Nouri, the director of al-Sadr's office in Najaf was gunned down as he drove home after attending Friday prayers in the adjacent city of Kufa, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

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By Sholnn Freeman

Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, April 14, 2008; Page A11

BAGHDAD, April 13 -- The Iraqi government said Sunday it had dismissed 1,300 soldiers and policemen for refusing to fight during an offensive last month in the southern port city of Basra.

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, said more than 900 soldiers and policemen, including 37 senior police officers, were fired in Basra, where Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a security crackdown March 25.

Others were dismissed in the city of Kut, where fighting spread, Khalaf said. The offensive triggered bloody clashes across southern Iraq and in Baghdad.

Almost from the start, the Basra crackdown ran into trouble from the Mahdi Army militia, which is loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Mahdi Army fighters ignored an order by Maliki to turn over their weapons and began challenging Iraqi forces in militia-controlled neighborhoods.

Police commanders in Basra said the policemen who were fired had left their stations, given up their weapons and in some cases even defected to the militia when the fighting started. "They didn't do their duty," Khalaf said. "They should be ready whenever the government needs them."

Fighting continued in the city, where police have expanded sweeps for weapons and continued to impose curfews. Residents reported seeing Mahdi Army fighters walking the streets and planting bombs.

On Sunday, fighting erupted between the militia and government security forces in the city's Five-Mile district, where the Mahdi Army has built fortifications.

"The situation in our neighborhood is bad," said Raad Abbas, a Basra policeman who lives in the district. "The Iraqi army has tried to get in, but the Mahdi Army fighters are banning them."

The problems in Basra have raised questions about the preparedness of Iraq's military and police, which the United States has spent more than $22 billion to build up. American military commanders have said that strengthening the Iraqi security forces is a critical step before significant numbers of U.S. troops can be withdrawn.

Special correspondents Aahad Ali in Basra and Zaid Sabah and Naseer Nouri in Baghdad contributed to this report.