US Enters Baghdad in force, Population Jubilant, Looting

[Mewnews, April 9] US forces entered Baghdad in force today, with US Marines pushing into residential neighborhoods and forces entering the center of town as well. In scenes reminiscent of the fall of the USSR, people tore down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in the center of town, and in some neighborhoods, greeted the US forces as liberators.

The BBC's Rageh Omaar said that as the image of the Iraqi leader tumbled to the ground the decades of pain and anger welled up and the crowd surged forward to jump on the statue to smash it to pieces.

"It is a true expression of their anger at over 25 years of rule, they are seeking to vent their anger at the government and joy that it has now fallen."

"This is an historic moment and it took place in front of ordinary Iraqi people, US marines and the gathered media of the world," he added.

``Today the regime is in disarray,'' Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks said at briefing at Central Command headquarters in Qatar. ``The capital city has been added to those places where the regime has lost control.''

Throngs of men milled about, looting, blaring horns, dancing and tearing up pictures of Saddam Hussein. Baath party offices were trashed.

Occasional sniper fire continued, but Iraqi resistance largely faded away. The American military hesitated to say the war was over, warning instead that more fighting could break out, both inside and outside Baghdad. The American military emptied jails overnight, releasing their prisoners.

The bombing campaign is over. The streets were full of activity. In the Shiite neighborhood called Saddam City, a densely populated  slum, crowds of men shouted and waved their arms in jubilation. Some carried makeshift flags.

A  man held up a giant portrait of Saddam Hussein, and beat the face of the Iraqi leader with his shoe, a particular insult. "This man has killed two million of us,'' he yelled as bystanders milled around approvingly.

An American colonel said that there was not a single area of the city that the Iraqi government still controlled, after another night of heavy bombing and intense fighting. A few explosions continued during the day as bombs fell from American war planes. However, military officials cautioned that resistance continued elsewhere in the country and that Baghdad could not be called secure. At Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar, an American military spokesman said:.

``I think it's premature to talk about the end of this operation,'' Captain Frank Thorp said. There could be more fierce fighting ahead, he said, within Baghdad and other cities.

Sporadic  gunfire crackled f in the morning hours, but there was no visible sign of organized resistance from Iraqi forces. The fighting has gone  from targeting major military targets to dealing with local pockets of resistance, another United States military spokesman said.

In the Shiite area of Baghdad, long suppressed by the forces of Saddam Hussein, there appeared to be a quick breakdown in law and order. Crowds rushed into a government building, unfettered by police, and emerged with furniture, china and mattresses. One man carried a huge porcelain urn. Another shouted at a foreign television camera: "No Saddam" as cars passed in the background honking their horns. Marines looked on doing nothing as the looting continued. Some of the sporadic gunfire could have been shopkeepers warning looters to stay away, a sign of growing chaos as the mood spread throughout the city. Looters took over a United Nations compound in southeast Baghdad, taking air conditioners, cars and refrigerators.

American marines were moving westward into the central city. Army and marine units have already linked up in the northern part of town.

Reporters said that the government officials assigned to follow them did not turn up for work. "The Information Minister decided to take the day off,'' a British general said.

On Tuesday, a large US column entered Baghdad in a show of force (map)  as the US continued to tighten its grip on the city. On Monday, the US had taken over a presidential palace (map) , which they used as a center for processing prisoners of war.  Additional palaces and key structures were apparently taken over, including the Rashid Hotel. Tuesday's action included another armoured column thrust, bombing, and an attack by Marines from the east, taking over Rashif Air Force Base (map) .

Health officials expect that the sanitary situation in the city will deteriorate rapidly. . The Red Cross reports that Iraqi hospitals are severely overcrowded and running out of supplies.

Report: ICNU Opposition Forces  Terrorizing Najaf

[Mewnews, April 9] The Iraqi Coalition of National Unity (ICNU), which appeared in Najaf last week riding on US special forces vehicles, has taken to looting and terrorising their neighborhood with impunity, according to most residents.

"They steal and steal," said a man living near the Medresa al Tayif school, calling himself Abu Zeinab. "They threaten us, saying: 'We are with the Americans, you can do nothing to us.

US military officials said they are looking in to the matter.

The Iraqi exile leader Ahmed Chalabi and hundreds of his followers in the Iraqi National Congress (INC) were  flown to Nasiriyeh by US forces, and announced as the vanguard of the new Iraqi army and government. No reports indicate problems in Nassiriyeh thus fact.

The decision to send the force was made within the last few days, to enlist more native Iraqis in "working the cities," where most U.S. forces have not been very well received by the local population. Some of the force will be deployed to other southern cities, while another group will assist U.S. forces in northern Iraq. A large number of those sent south are Shiites who had been Iraqi soldiers and had taken refuge in the north over the past decade, the official said.

Chalabi and the INC are favored by the defense department. Others have been extremely critical of the 80 year old leader. The lightly armed "troops" have little or no military training.

In Basra, looting and lawlessness continue and residents are distraught. British forces apparently appointed a local Sheikh to make order, but thus far anarchy continues to reign.

Al-Sahhaf: Iraqis will Smash US Forces in Baghdad

[Mewnews, April 8] Iraqi Information minister said in interviews to Arab correspondents that he was confident Iraqis would crush the US/British invasion.

In an interview with Dubai television in front the Filastin (Palestine) hotel, he said,

"...the capital prepares itself now, and parts of the Baghdad forces, particularly the commando units, prepare to smash them. We set several armored personnel carriers and tanks on fire in Al-Rashid camp. Those in the city have no contact with their rear lines that are at the perimeters of Al-Rashid camp. We will smash the other forces that came through Al-Dawrah and the Baghdad-al-Hillah highway. Everything is under control. We started dealing with them with the artillery, the RPG-7, and Saddam's Fedayeen have started to deal with several targets. ...

 We have imprisoned them in their tanks. This means they cannot get out of their tanks. We will start to deal with them carefully... They are in a hysterical state and are rushing things. They believe that they can win by killing civilians and confusing people. I believe that these rogues will not win...  They are close to the gate of the presidential compound. ... Their rear has been severed. It was the al-Quds army that attacked their tanks in their rear lines and set them on fire....They are going to surrender. They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks." 

Asked if he was frightened, Al-Sahhaf replied, "Not at all, and you do not need to be frightened. We are going to tackle them and to destroy them. Do not be afraid."

He repeated essentially similar statements to Abu-Dhabi television, claiming that Fedayeen units would crush the invaders, and that the Americans were insolated in their ranks and could not get out.

The Face of War

[Mewnews, April 9] A badly burned Iraqi boy, who lost his family and both arms in a U.S. bombing raid on Baghdad, has become the face of suffering in the conflict for many around the world and sparked a flood of fundraising appeals.

At least three British newspapers and a charity launched appeals on Wednesday to raise money for war victims in Iraq, spurred by the haunting photo and story of Ali Ismaeel Abbas.

"The picture that will stay with us...the image that refuses to leave the retina no matter how many times you blink, is of 12-year-old Ali Ismaeel Abbas," London's Evening Standard said as it launched an appeal on behalf of the Red Cross.

 The missile that obliterated Ali's home also killed his father, pregnant mother, brother, three cousins and three other
relatives and left him without his arms and badly burned.

"Can you help me get my arms back? Do you think the doctors can get me another pair of hands. If I don't get a pair of hands I will commit suicide," he said to Reuters reporters.

An Indian Maharani has already volunteered to pay for his medical care, but there will be thousands more children like Ali, as there are in every war.

U.S., Kurdish Troops Nearing Mosul

[Mewnews, April 9]  Kurdish and US forces took Maqloub mountain, from which Iraqis were defending the northern city of Mosul, removing the last of the city's defenses, said Hoshiyar Zebari, political adviser to Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani on Wednesday. The mountain is about 15 KM northeast of Mosul. Zebari said the area was heavily defended by Iraqis throughout the campaign, but now there was surprisingly little resistance.  The Iraqis retreated, leaving behind air defense systems, radar and many weapons and other equipment.

Zebari said that with US aid and consent, the Kurdish would now advance to Mosul and Kirkuk, the major oil cities of the north. However, he said that they would not act on their own, to allay Turkish fears. "We will not move unilaterally or independently to Mosul or Kirkuk. This has to be in full coordination and cooperation with U.S. forces to do that," he said.

According to Zebari, informal talks were in progress  between Iraqi officials in Mosul and Kirkuk and Kurdish leaders, which might lead to surrender now that the regime was collapsing.