Normalcy returns to beleaguered Baghdad suburb

Residents of Baghdad's mainly Shia district of Sadr City are breathing a sigh of relief as a ceasefire between Shia militiamen loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr and US-backed government forces has brought to an end seven weeks of clashes that left daily life all but paralysed.

[Read this report in Arabic]

Schools, government offices and businesses have re-opened, mine clearing operations have begun and aid teams are bringing much needed relief items to those who had been cut off.

"We went through very bad and hard days since the clashes began," said Ammar Wathiq Yousif, a 39-year-old father-of-two from Sadr City. "We weren’t able to leave our home and it was very hard to get food and other essentials.

"But since yesterday, when Iraqi security forces came into the area and the militants left, we’ve returned to our normal lives; I can drive my taxi in the streets, my two daughters have gone back to school and businesses have re-opened," he added.

But Yousif, like many of the other 2.5 million people living in this run-down area on the eastern side of the capital, complained about poor public services and a dilapidated infrastructure.

"We've only returned to our normal daily suffering, which is of course better than what we’ve been through the past few weeks. We lack many basic services, electricity is available for about six hours a day at best, and some streets are frequently flooded with sewage," he said.

10-point truce agreement

A 10-point truce agreement came into effect on 11 May but it was shaky from the start with sporadic clashes occurring in different parts of Sadr City. However, order was restored when Iraqi security forces fully took over the area on 16 May.

The main points of the agreement stipulate that Iraqi forces would take over security in Sadr City and would refrain from seeking US help to restore order. In return, the Mahdi Army militia would stop fighting US and Iraqi forces in the area.

Photo: Cohen A. Young/US Army

An Iraqi woman struggles with a box of food during a distribution of relief supplies by Iraqi soldiers in Sadr City on 8 May, 2008

On 17 May, Iraqi authorities said they had already begun clearing mines planted by militants around Sadr City to trap Iraqi and US forces.

"Our military engineering teams started mine clearing operations on Friday [16 May] and so far have managed to dismantle 50 mines and roadside bombs," Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, an Iraqi army spokesman, said in a statement.

"We are still in the first phase of the campaign and it will last for the coming few days to purge Sadr City from all these explosives. Residents are cooperating with our teams effectively," al-Mousawi said.

He added that the Iraqi government had allotted US$150 million to improve public services in Sadr City and create job opportunities.

Humanitarian aid

Awad Khalaf Hadi, a spokesman of al-Zahra, a non-governmental organisation in Sadr City, told IRIN that aid teams had resumed the delivery of relief items to areas they had been unable to access for weeks.

"Now, the municipality teams can go out and work normally in the streets, and we can reach all those in need and all the hospitals. Schools and other government offices are open after being deserted," Hadi said.

sm/at/ed