Caught Between Forces Vying for the Soul of a Country

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

BAGHDAD, May 13 -- Inside his olive-green tent, Abbas Laibi Sadoon unveiled the fresh scar on the right shoulder of his 7-year-old son, Ali. It was caused, Sadoon said, by a U.S. airstrike targeting Shiite militiamen in the capital's Sadr City enclave. That was why his family fled their home six days ago.

But in this displacement camp at Baghdad's largest stadium, Sadoon's family faced another danger: The militiamen could target them for accepting humanitarian aid from Shiite rivals who lead Iraq's government. That, and the fragility of a truce, was why the family feared returning home on Tuesday.

"Those who are coming here are risking their life," said Sadoon, seated on blue tarpaulin near donated food, his radio by his feet. "I might die because of this, but I am afraid for my kids."

The civilians of Sadr City are increasingly trapped between two battles for the soul of Iraq -- one pitting U.S. forces against the militiamen of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, the second between Iraq's Shiite parties.

Clashes erupted late Monday night and Tuesday, despite a cease-fire formally signed Monday by lawmakers loyal to Sadr and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The violence left at least 11 civilians dead and 20 wounded, police said, adding that at least three militiamen were also killed.

Reports of the fresh violence quickly filtered back to the 28 families from Sadr City who have fled to this soccer field in Shaab Stadium with their meager possessions and vivid stories of chaos.

"There is no truce," said Mohammed Jassim, 38, a physical education teacher who arrived Saturday with 10 relatives. "We hear something from the politicians, but we see something different on the ground."

"We are the victims, we and our sons," said Ali Jaffer Muhsin, 52, the owner of a small shop in Sadr City who was standing outside Jassim's tent.

A few hours earlier, Muhsin had taken his four children to school inside Sadr City because he had heard about the cease-fire. It was the first day of exams, and the Ministry of Education said they would not be postponed. But as he drove through Sadr City, he said he saw missiles striking a building and immediately returned to the camp.

Muhsin knew that he would face another challenge Wednesday: "My daughter's high school was bombed a week ago," he said. "And tomorrow my daughter has an exam at that school."

As he spoke, two women clad in head-to-toe black abayas walked in clutching two photos of a car riddled with bullet holes, its body crushed. They said U.S. troops had shot at the car, then driven over it with a tank.

"My husband was killed," one of the women said. "I have six kids, and my husband used to be a taxi driver. So what can I do?"

Hundreds in Sadr City have died since violence erupted seven weeks ago in the aftermath of an Iraqi government offensive in the southern city of Basra. The battles exposed the deep-rooted rivalry between Iraq's Shiite groups.

Sadr's followers accused their rivals, especially the Badr Organization, the armed wing of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a powerful Shiite party led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, of using the Iraqi army as a proxy to gain political power before provincial elections scheduled for October. U.S. forces are backing Iraqi forces with combat helicopters, Stryker armored vehicles and aerial drones, at times taking the lead in combating the militiamen.

The camp, which opened May 8, was expected to house as many as 500 families. Iraqi government officials said the number of arrivals was low because many had gone to live with their extended families.

"Those are the families who have no other place to go. No relatives, no other shelter," said Hamid Abdul Rahim, the camp's administrator. "The number of people who fled their houses are 100 times more than what we have here."

But others said Mahdi Army militiamen were preventing many of Sadr City's displaced from seeking assistance at the camp. Rumors abounded of the Mahdi Army warning people against going to Shaab Stadium.

"They consider this a Maliki camp," not one set up to provide aid, Jassim said. "If there was not this concern, this camp would not have the capacity to hold the people who want to come."

"The fear is there, the threats," he added. "Some people don't have to be threatened. They think if they come here, they will be subject to danger from the Mahdi Army."

Sami Allah Ashwili, a Mahdi Army commander in Sadr City, described some of those who have fled to Shaab Stadium as members of the Badr Organization. The camp, he said, "was propaganda for the benefit of the failing Iraqi government." He warned that if those at the camp returned to Sadr City, his fighters will make sure they do not stay for long.

A U.S. military officer with knowledge of the camp said many Iraqis were not coming here because they lacked trust in the Iraqi government to provide adequate food and services. The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said threats from Mahdi Army militiamen were also a factor.

Jassim's family fled over the weekend after clashes broke out between U.S. forces and militiamen on their block. After bullets shattered their windows, they fled through the back door, hopping over their neighbor's fence.

"We left in a hurry," said Jassim Mohammed Sabah, Jassim's father, as his wife, Lemiya, nodded.

Their son, Qaeed, has a rare blood disorder. If he was shot, it would be difficult to treat him, his mother said.

They arrived at the camp with nothing more than a kerosene lamp, some food, clothes and two pots. Aid workers handed them a package of food, including beans, jam and cheese, as well as blankets, mattresses and cooking pots.

"We wish we could go back today to our house," Sabah said. "But the American soldiers are standing across the street from our house. Once you step out of the house, you will be shot by the snipers."

After fleeing Sadr City six days ago, Sadoon first took his family to an abandoned post office on nearby Palestine Street. But local residents turned up and demanded their identification cards.

Once the residents learned Sadoon and his family were from Sadr City, it was time to leave. "We were treated like the plague," Sadoon said, watching his 9-month-old twins roll on the tarpaulin. "We assured them we had nothing to do with either side, but they still kicked us out. So we came here."

He spoke in a low voice and kept watch for curious young men near his tent, men he thought might be Mahdi Army spies.

Like others in the camp, he has told his neighbors in Sadr City that he's staying with relatives, fearing repercussions. He knows one Badr Organization member who worked in a mosque near his house.

"He fled because he would have been killed," Sadoon said, adding that such targeting had increased in Sadr City. "All of this fighting is for political power," he said. "And the innocent people are stuck in the middle."

Special correspondent Saad al-Izzi contributed to this report.