PROTESTS, SPORADIC VIOLENCE CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000029

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL PINR IZ
SUBJECT: PROTESTS, SPORADIC VIOLENCE CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL;
SADRISTS PREACH CALM, PROTECT BABIL SUNNI SHRINE

REF: A) HILLAH 0028 B) HILLAH 0026

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (SBU) Summary: Protests continued across Wasit and Babil
Provinces in South Central Iraq for a second and third day after
the bombing of Al-Askariyah mosque in Samarra. In Wasit, Shi'a
Islamists of all affiliations joined a massive demonstration
February 23. The next day, Sadrist mosque preachers called for
calm. Diwaniyah Sadrists called for their followers to mobilize
to protect Samarra. In Babil, a tightly-enforced curfew did not
prevent additional protests on February 23 and 24, and police
reported apparently sectarian killings. Babil mosques generally
preached restraint, and Sadrists reportedly offered to protect a
Sunni mosque in Al-Hillah. End summary.

TWO BABIL SUNNIS REPORTED DEAD; SADRISTS PRAY WITH SUNNIS
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2. (SBU) Protests Thursday, February 23 again coursed through
Al-Hillah, breaking up in the late afternoon just before the
imposition of a curfew that was to begin at 6 p.m. Babil
officials described the protest as peaceful, and estimated the
crowd to be about 3,000. Three mortars were reportedly fired at
the demonstrators, missing the protest and instead striking a
nearby house, injuring a woman and two children. Local contacts
reported that two Sunnis were killed late on February 23,
increasing the total known dead in Babil to three so far in the
wake of the Al-Askariyah bombing.


3. (SBU) A curfew prohibiting car traffic on Al-Hillah's streets
remained in effect through Friday, February 24, although traffic
reportedly moved freely outside the city. Local staff reported
seeing a very large number of Sadrists dressed in black
preparing to board as many as thirty buses bound for Kufa, Najaf
Province, the site of one of Moqtada Al-Sadr's main offices and
an affiliated mosque. Local staff also reported convoys from
Mahaweel, in Northern Babil Province, traveling through Babil on
the main road to Najaf. Local staff said that the convoys could
have been heading towards Najaf, or to the Imam Zaid Bin Ali
Shrine near Kifl, Babil Province. (Note: February 24 marks a day
of pilgrimage to the Zaid bin Ali Shrine for Shi'a Muslims. End
note.) The convoys bore banners and pictures of Moqtada Al-Sadr.
Passengers were chanting, "Down, down, America, down, down,
Israel" as the convoy passed by the Regional Embassy Office.
Later on February 24, protesters estimated at more than 5,000
marched through Al-Hillah chanting for the dismissal of U.S.
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.


4. (SBU) Local contacts reported Sadrist imams preaching
self-control and restraint during Friday prayers, urging
worshippers not to be driven into sectarian strife because that
is the goal of the terrorists. Sadrists were also reported to
have joined Sunnis in prayer. According to a local official,
Babil Governor Salem Saleh Mehdi Al-Muslimawi had sent word to a
Sunni mosque in Al-Hillah asking them to cancel their Friday
prayers for their own safety. Hearing of this, the Sadrists
reportedly sent a delegation to the Sunni shrine, convinced the
Sunnis to hold their services under Sadrist protection, and even
joined in the Sunni rites.

THURSDAY ANGER YIELDS TO FRIDAY CALLS FOR PEACE IN WASIT
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5. (SBU) A large crowd, representing the full range of Shi'a
Islamists and estimated in the thousands, converged on the main
Sadrist mosque in Al-Kut Thursday, February 23. The
demonstrators marched peacefully to the main courtyard of the
Wasit Governorate Center building, where they were received by
Provincial Council members, some of whom are Sadrists, Wasit
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)
Chairman Ahmed Al-Hakim and a representative of the Sistani
office in Al-Kut. Sistani's instructions calling for
demonstrations were read to the crowd. After a speech by former
Provincial Council Chairman Majed Ali Askar calling for the
withdrawal of Coalition Forces, the crowd chanted "No! No!
America! No! No! Israel!" Many in the crowd also called for
violence and retribution against Sunnis and their leaders,
including Saleh Mutlaq and Adnan Al-Dulaimi. The demonstration
was patrolled by Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police forces. A banner in
front of the Sadrist office in Al-Kut read, "The explosion that
damaged the holy shrine in Samarra is the result of a coalition
between the United States and terrorist Sunni political
leaders."


6. (SBU) Thursday's violent rhetoric apparently gave way to
restraint by Friday, February 24. At the main Sadrist mosque in
Al-Kut, Wasit Sadrist Head Modhafer Al-Musawi appealed for calm.
Reading a statement reportedly from Moqtada Al-Sadr, Al-Musawi
described the mosque bombings in Samarra as an act designed to
split the brotherhood of Islam and Muslims in Iraq. Musawi,
further relating the statement of Al-Sadr, demanded that a

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committee of Sunni and Shi'a be formed to investigate the
incident, and that religious leaders sign an "honor pact" to
leave important Sunni and Shi'a sites unharmed. At a Sunni
Mosque in Al-Kut, a small crowd of approximately 50 worshippers
gathered for Friday morning prayers. The imam appealed for unity
and brotherhood between all Muslims of Iraq.

SADRIST, SISTANI MOSQUES OFFER DIVERGENT INSTRUCTIONS
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7. (SBU) In Diwaniyah, stores and government offices were closed
February 23, and no protests or demonstrations were reported.
The next day, Shi'a mosques offered divergent guidance. A local
journalist reported that in mosques affiliated with Grand
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, preachers called for calm. In
contrast, Sadrist mosques offered "incendiary" sermons, and
urged worshippers to travel to Samarra to protect the religious
sites there.
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