BASRAH/BAGHDAD SITUATION REPORT: MARCH 25-26,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000928 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/08 TAGS: MOPS PGOV PINS PTER IZ SUBJECT: BASRAH/BAGHDAD SITUATION REPORT: MARCH 25-26, 14:00 LOCAL Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (U) The following is a situation report on Basrah, Baghdad, and the southern provinces as of 14:00 local time, drawn from Embassy contacts, REO Basrah, and local press reporting. PM Taking Control in Basrah -------------- ¶2. (C) At present, PM Maliki, Defense Minister Abdel Qadr, and Interior Minister Bolani are located at Basrah Palace. The Palace is also serving as the headquarters for National Police forces in Basrah. While Maliki is expected to return to Baghdad on March 27, he has been quoted as proclaiming he will remain in Basrah "until security is restored." In this vein, he has cancelled his trip to attend the Arab League Summit in Damascus. ¶3. (C) Late March 25, Maliki was approached by a group of Shia political figures led by Ayatollah Yaqubi (Fadhila Party) who pleaded with him to negotiate an end to hostilities in Basrah. The PM refused, insisting that those resisting lay down their arms and surrender wanted militia leaders or he would go after them. Meanwhile, local and provincial officials remain on the sidelines, though, according to one report, the PM agreed to meet governor Waeli today. ¶4. (C) OMS in Basrah has said it is not against the security operation but stressed that the ISF must target only militia members who are disobeying the cease-fire. OMS has also expressed a willingness to negotiate but called for civil disobedience campaign beginning the afternoon of March 26 due to rising civilian casualties. Command and Control in Basrah -------------- ¶5. (C) Contrary to previous reporting of Basrah Operations Commander General Mohan's dismissal, he currently is located at the Basrah Operations Center (BOC) and continues to exercise some command/control over security operations. Iraqi Army units in Basrah are receiving direction from their headquarters at Camp Shaibah. Basrah Disposition and number of Forces are as follows: --Reinforcements arriving in Basrah in the last 48 hours include one company of ISOF, 2 IA battalions, and 2 NP battalions (one mechanized, one Carabinieri-trained Quick Response Force. --One IA battalion and one IP battalion are en route to Basrah from Karbala, ETA unknown. --4x Iraqi medium-lift helicopters and 2x Iraqi light helicopters are supporting operations in Basrah. --One Iraqi C-130 departed for Basrah this morning to provide ammunition resupply to ISF. --MNC-I is supporting Basra with 4x AH-64s and 2x UH-60s that will be based in Tallil. They have not engaged targets yet. --MND-SE (UK) has a 60-minute Quick Reaction Force on call. It consists of 14 tanks and 40 IFVs. Basrah Security Situation Summary -------------- ¶6. (C) Multiple sources report JAM resistance throughout the city, consisting of direct engagements as well as indirect fire attacks. JAM continues to hold established defensive positions and, according to a source from the MOI, has taken control of provincial government offices. Local media reports that 40 JAM fighters have been killed and more than 200 injured. MGEN JALIL is reported to have declared entry/exit of the city closed, extended the curfew 3 additional days and has demanded that citizens turn in their weapons. Reporting from the ISF indicates that there have been 50 x ISF killed and 120 x ISF wounded since the start of operation. Situation in Southern Provinces -------------- ¶7. (C) The overall the situation in southern Iraq, with the exception of Basra, is tense. On March 25, curfews were imposed by ISF in Babil, Dhi Qar, Diwaniyah, Karbala, Muthanna, and Wasit. ¶8. (C) The most serious violence outside of Basra occurred in BAGHDAD 00000928 002 OF 003 Wasit province, where gunmen took to the streets and attacks were reported against the governor's house, the governance center and the provincial council building. Local Sadrists have publicly expressed their support for security operations but admitted the violence is beyond their control. The situation in Wasit remains tense with reports of scattered fighting in the streets. During the evening of March 25, an Iraqi Army convoy in Maysan was attacked repeatedly and three mortars were fired at Camp David south of Najaf. ¶9. (U) On March 25 the OMS office in Najaf released a statement calling for Sadrists to "extend an olive branch" to ISF forces and demanding an end to attacks against "our people." The statement said if attacks continued the Sadrists would respond first with a strike, then with a campaign of civil disobedience, and finally with an unspecified "third step." ¶10. (C) Provincial Sadrist leaders seem more willing than their national counterparts to acquiesce to security operations, provided ISF limit their targeting to members violating the cease-fire. However, similar to Sadr's earlier March statement emphasizing JAM's right to self-defense, the call for "civil disobedience" is being interpreted by some militants within the Sadrist trend as an excuse to abandon the cease-fire. Baghdad Political Summary -------------- ¶11. (C) In Baghdad, the Sadrist Trend announced on March 25 that it was suspending its participation in Iraq's parliament. In a press conference Baha al-Araji and Nasar Rubaie demanded the government stop its security operations and release detained Sadrists. They called PM Maliki a failure and said dialogue was the only solution to the crisis. ¶12. (C) This morning Sadr City remained shut down. IA is in control of three checkpoints into Sadr City and is allowing people to enter, but not to leave. Other parts of the city have returned to normal with traffic moving and shops open, albeit less crowded and with noticeable tension. A Sadrist Trend call for a general strike in Western Baghdad against the GOI has spread throughout the city and has been accompanied with multiple IDF attacks in the IZ. Local newspapers reported on a Sadrist call for a general strike against the ISCI/Badr controlled government, listing three demands: 1) the cessation of the random targeting of Sadrists; 2) release of detainees; 3) a GOI apology. ¶13. (C) There are unsubstantiated stories of JAM overpowering several ISF checkpoints and disarming them. Other news sources report of JAM attacking Badr Organization and Dawa Party Headquarters. Another account is of JAM driving down Palestine Street in Iraqi police cars with Sadr flags flying. There are reports new Sadrist graffiti in mulhalla 214 Karkh District in Western Baghdad generally declaring "we're back." ¶14. (C) Clashes have taken place between JAM and ISF in Sadr City. Reports for a hospital in Sadr City indicate four killed and 25 wounded arrived overnight. Local media reports up to 20 JAM members killed in Sadr City. U.S. military spokesman said two ISF were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Sadr City late on March 25. Coalition Forces reinforced the checkpoint. One CF vehicle was destroyed in Sadr City and indirect fire attacks have occurred there overnight. ¶15. (C) The morning of March 25, sources inside the Shulla neighborhood, reported of JAM ordering shops closed and other sources claimed that mini buses were not running in Southern Baghdad. At the time, it was business as usual in Sadr City and Eastern Baghdad, although there was some anecdotal evidence of greater police and Iraqi army presence on the streets. ¶16. (C) 1200 local time reports started trickling in about JAM activities in Eastern Baghdad: JAM entered markets in New Baghdad and forced shops to shut, some schools inside Sadr City were shut and Colonel Alaa, commander of the ISF in Sadr City, pulled his forces from checkpoints for fear of escalating violence he mightnot be able to control. Locally employed staff with families in Sadr City told us that it was unclear as to who was in control of the three gates/checkpoints usually manned by the IA that separate Sadr City from the rest of Rusafa (Eastern Baghdad). A local contact told one of our POL FSNs that JAM has initiated clashes and mortar fire in the Zayyouna neighborhood (near Sadr City). BAGHDAD 00000928 003 OF 003 ¶17. (C) Baghdad PRT contacted Sadr City Mayor Muhamad Al-Maliki for an on the ground assessment. The Mayor commented that the situation on the ground was tense and confrontational. CROCKER