The commander of coalition forces in Iraq yesterday demanded a swift end to the uprising led by Moqtada Sadr as fresh clashes across the country claimed dozens of lives. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said the uprising had to be ended âfairly quicklyâ after more than a month of fighting between Sadrâs followers and coalition troops across central and southern Iraq. More than 40 people were reported killed in the 24 hours to yesterday afternoon after the US forces vowed to destroy Sadrâs Mehdi Army militia that has hamstrung its efforts for a stable handover of sovereignty by June 30.
The US-led forces described fighting in the towns of Nassiriyah and Amara as a âminorâ uprising that had been quelled. The uprising started last month when US overseer Paul Bremer closed a Sadr newspaper with a tiny circulation and troops arrested one of his aides over the murder of rival cleric last year. The worst of the latest fighting was near the southern city of Amara late Friday. British troops killed 20 militiamen after two vehicles were ambushed. US troops killed another 14 militiamen in a series of clashes in Sadr City, a Shiite district of the capital where Sadrâs Mehdi Army has battled with US forces for weeks. In the central holy city of Karbala, the clericâs militia clashed with US forces for a fourth straight day, losing four fighters, as coalition soldiers using loudspeakers urged people to leave the area. |