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We can now notice more people on the street going about their daily business, and stores are gradually opening but traffic in the streets is still not as normal as the last few weeks, and governmental and educational institutions are still empty. Baghdadis are trying their best to survive and go on with their lives. Clashes have ceased in Sadr city and Adhamiya for the time being but that is chiefly due to the absence of any American forces there. My neighbourhood has also been quiet since I last posted, which is a bit relieving. Long live Islamic unity, long live Iraq, and long live the Mujahideen. The handbills were signed by yet another new group the Freedom Martyrs Brigades. Arab satellite channels reported today that Al-Mustansiriyah university was under siege by US troops. We have a neighbour who is a professor there, so as expected we raced to his house when we had heard about it. We congratulated him for his safety, but he looked significantly surprised and asked us what was up? It turned out there was no siege at all, there was an American patrol in the vicinity of the university, and they had witnessed someone climbing on the clock tower trying to paste a large poster of Muqtada Al-Sadr. The patrol called for backup, entered the campus and hollered for the fellow to come down. They teared the poster and removed a few others close to the universitys main entry gates. According to our friend, the whole process didnt take any more than 20 minutes. Meanwhile regarding the hostages crisis, 11 Russian engineers working for a Russian electricity company that maintains several power stations south of Baghdad were reported kidnapped just a few hours ago after an assault on their headquarters in the Zayuna district.
Anyway, a Jordanian taxi company in Baghdad also reported 2 missing Czechs who were supposed to travel to Jordan. The CPA also stated lately that several American contractors working for Haliburton were missing along with a couple of Iraqi translators. Al-Jazeera displayed an exclusive video yesterday of several kidnapped trailer drivers, some of them Turks and one of them from Phillipines. A masked fellow reading from a paper he was holding said that they have decided to release the hostages as a response to the fatwa issued by the Sunni Haiyat Al-Ulemma yesterday against holding foreigners as hostages, but on the condition that they promise to stop assisting American forces. The Chinese News Agency reported that 7 Chinese hostages were released earlier yesterday. The group that held the Japanese hostages announced that they have postponed killing the three Japanese according to an intermediary, but someone denied it later on Al-Jazeera. In Najaf and Kufa, Iraqi police and ICDC have returned to the streets following an agreement with Al-Mahdi army after a whole weeks absence. There is talk of negotiations between the Hawza and Muqtada Al-Sadr, with Mohammed Ridha Al-Sistani the Grand Ayatollahs eldest son and a son of Ayatollah Mohammed Ishaq Al-Fayadh together with other representatives of Shiite clerics as intermediaries. A spokesman for the delegation said that they would later name a renowned Iraqi figure from outside the GC to act as an intermediary between them and the CPA. He also announced that an important statement is to be issued tomorrow by Sistani on behalf of the Hawza alilmiyyah that would be to the effect of a warning to coalition forces if they ever tried to attack Najaf or arrest Al-Sadr. Sanchez remarks that Al-Sadr would be arrested or killed and that American troops are moving to Najaf. If that is true, it would mean a full scale Jihad against Americans by Shia followers of Sistani in the event of any movement against Sadr. A telling sign that Sistani and his colleagues are losing patience. A unilateral ceasefire is still in effect but there are reports of continued fighting. Negotiations are still going on with tribal elders and clerics of Fallujah on one hand, the Islamic party and Haiyat Al-Ulemma on the other hand. Fallujans have made it clear that they will not accept any negotiations with anyone from the GC. Several GC members have mentioned earlier that they were negotiating for an agreeable settlement, but it looks like Fallujans want to distance themselves from the GC as far as possible, so that the GC would not be credited for resolving the crisis. When asked who would control the city after reaching a settlement, the negotiators on part of Fallujah expressed that they would only trust and agree to Iraqi Police and ICDC who were from Fallujah itself. The body count in Fallujah till now is 518 Iraqis dead 160 of them women, and about 50 children and 1250 badly injured. Doctors from Fallujah mentioned that a large number of the dead women and children were shot in the head and that they were saving the extracted bullets to prove that they were being targetted by Marines snipers in the city. Poor Abu Hadi, but the good part is that he at least gets to enjoy the privilege of experiencing war.
The sense of an impending disaster, the ominous silence, the breakdown of most governmental facilities, the absence of any police or security forces, contradicting news reports, rumours everywhere, and a complete disruption in the flow of everyday life chores. All signs indicate that its all spiralling out of control, and any statements by CPA and US officials suggesting otherwise are blatantly absurd. The chaos and unrest have rapidly spread to several other cities in Iraq such as Mosul, Baquba, and Kirkuk. The situation in Fallujah looks terrible and bleak enough from what Al-Jazeera is showing every hour. Ahmad Mansour reported that they keep changing their location for fear of being targetted by Americans. The town stadium has turned into one large graveyard, and the death toll is 500 Iraqis until now with over a thousand injured, a huge price to pay for pacification. The insurgents in Fallujah who are using mosques and house roofs to wage their war against the Marines are equally to blame for the blood of the civilians who have been caught in the crossfire. A ceasefire has been announced by the Americans and is supposed to be in effect but Al-Jazeera reports that fighting continues. What kills me is the absence of any serious effort by Iraqi parties, organisations, tribal leaders, or clerics to intermediate or try to put an end to the cycle of violence. All we hear is denunciation and fiery speeches as if those were going to achieve anything on the ground. An anonymous group announced that it held 30 foreign hostages today according to Al-Iraqiya tv. There have been rumours on the Internet that the three Japanese hostages faked the video that was displayed two days ago with the help of Iraqis in an attempt to pressure the Japanese government in withdrawing their troops. Noriaki Imai was in Iraq researching the effect of Depleted Uranium on Iraqis. Nahoka Takato works with an NGO helping Iraqi children orphaned from the war, and Soichiru Koriyama is a freelance journalist who has been in the Palestinian occupied territories recently. The fear and horror in their eyes was very evident in the video, if it is a hoax then they certainly have a promising future in Hollywood.
In Karbala, a Mahdi Army figure announced yesterday that they have suspended all operations in the holy city until the Shia Arbaieniya ceremonies are over. Preparations for the event have not been interrupted by the situation in the country, and Shia pilgrims continue to pour into Karbala, which is totally under control of Al-Mahdi. The spokesman congratulated Zainab bint Ali Imam Husseins sister for the liberation of her brothers city in his speech. Any terrorist attacks against the visiting Shiites in the next 24 hours would most probably plunge the country into a disaster. And I cant see how Al-Mahdi are going to prevent attacks if any local or foreign powers decide to. A new popular hossa tribal battle cry amongst Mahdi militiamen is Fallujah wa Al-Kufa, hatha alwatan menufa Fallujah and Kufa, this country we will not abandon. Some Iraqis have been circulating another controversial hossa being used by Mahdi Excuse us Imam Ali, but M...
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