World>Terrorism & Security
posted September 20, 2005 at 12:55 p.m.

British storm Basra jail, infuriate Iraqis

Move to free hostage soldiers leads to street violence, demonstrations.

By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

The southern Iraqi city of Basra, which has remained a relatively safer place than Baghdad, witnessed a day and night of violence that reminded one British soldier on the scene of " a busy night in Belfast." The BBC reports the clash reached its apex when British troops first stormed and broke down the walls of a Basra jail, looking for two imprisoned British soldiers who had been seized by Iraqi police earlier in the day, allegedly for killing a policeman and wounding another. Local police, "at the point of a 30 mm cannon," then told the Brits the men were being held in a local house. The house was stormed and the men were set free.

But the British actions, which they say were required by the circumstances, have infuriated local Iraqi officials. The Age of Melbourne reports Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra Province, condemned the British for raiding the prison, an act he called " barbaric, savage and irresponsible." The Guardian reports that the incident " shatters the assumption" that security in Basra is getting better.

[Monday's] events appear to have broken the uneasy peace that has existed in the British-run southern sector of Iraq for the past two years. Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, British troops in the south have enjoyed relative calm compared with US troops in Baghdad and the rest of central Iraq. In the south, dominated by Shiite Muslims, who were oppressed by Saddam Hussein, the British were initially welcomed as saviours. In recent months, though, unrest and violence have been on the rise. British forces blame this mainly on criminality, but insurgency too is increasing.


09/19/05 N. Korea, Iran both say they will continue their nuclear efforts 09/16/05 Pentagon draft plan calls for preemptive use of nukes 09/15/05 Israel's high court says govn't must reroute section of fence

Sign up to be notified daily: Find out more. Subscribe via RSS: What is this?

Reuters reported that local British commanders made their move after they learned the two soldiers, described as special forces commandos dressed in Arab clothing, had been handed over to local militia. "From an early stage I had good reason to believe the lives of the two soldiers were at risk," British Army Brigadier John Lorimer said in a statement to the media in London.

Newsday reports that violence flared after the British troops went to the Iraqi jail where they believed the men were being held.

When negotiations over their release dragged on, the British surrounded the central police station with eight armored vehicles and smashed down the front door, rescuing their comrades, Iraqi officials said. Angry Iraqis set two of the vehicles on fire, forcing one British soldier to jump from the flames, news photographs showed. Three soldiers were hurt, Britain's Press Association reported.

Newsday also notes that the Iraqi police forces, trained by the British, are now "so little trusted in Basra that British troops have been told not to submit to Iraqi police checkpoints." The British believe the police have been heavily infiltrated by local militias, including radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

British Defense Minister John Reid said the two men should have been handed over to British military authorities by their captors, but did not do so even when asked by their own Interior Department and local judges. Mr. Reid told the BBC that he remains upbeat about Iraq, but with some reservations.

"Everything is not black there but as we make the advance towards a democracy and build up the security forces, I freely admit that I expect that the terrorists will get more frenetic, more frantic," he said.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrats, disagreed with Mr. Reid's assessment of the situation, saying Monday's incident will only make matters in Iraq worse.

"It is hard to see how relations between the British military and the civilian Iraqi authorities in Basra will ever be the same again. This is bound to be seen as a humiliation by many Iraqis �� something the insurgents will use to their advantage."

Paul Wood, senior correspondent for the BBC, said it's likely Monday's events will lead to more violence against British forces, and less help from local police.

"Now we are in the situation where presumably revenge will be sought by relatives of the dead Iraqis – and our allies in the police, I think there has been a complete breakdown of trust and it's going to be very difficult for British troops to call on them."

The Guardian notes that another disturbing aspect of the violence is that the British commanders and senior diplomats in the area "have no faith" in the Iraqi justice system, "one they themselves have recently established."

Many observers believe the real cause of Monday night's unrest was not the shooting of the Iraqi policemen, but Sunday's arrest by British military forces of two leading members of the Mahdi Army, a nationalist militia led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

On Sunday Mr. Reid restated Britain's intention to keep its 9,000 soldiers in Iraq, for " as long as they are required, and they could send more troops if necessary." But more Brits, both inside and outside the ruling Labour Party, are questioning just how long Britain can realistically maintain its presence in Iraq.