Iraq: New offensive targets Sadrist movement in Amarah

The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had set today as the deadline for Mahdi Army militiamen to hand over all heavy and medium weapons, explosives and sniper rifles, in exchange for a cash payment. The government forces intend to conduct house-to-house searches of the entire city of 450,000 people, starting tomorrow. A local resident told Reuters on the weekend: The army and police have fanned out all over the city in a way we havent witnessed before; on the main streets, roads and bridges.

Amarah is the capital of Maysan province, which is best known for its network of marshes between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and is home to fiercely independent Marsh Arab tribes. The Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein drained marsh areas in an attempt to crush resistance to its rule by the Marsh Arabs, forcing over 200,000 people from their traditional villages. Many ended up in Amarah.

After the US-led invasion, Maysan was occupied by British troops. The Sadrist movement, however, which has broad support among the Marsh Arabs, always exerted de-facto control over Amarah, often in a bloody power struggle against supporters of the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq (ISCI), the largest Shiite party in Malikis government.

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