iraqi army moves into sadr city bringing calm

10,000 Iraqi troops bring calm to Sadr City Children play alongside an Iraqi tank on the streets of Sadr City, a Shia slum and stronghold of the al-Mahdi Army, and the last no-go area in Baghdad Deborah Haynes in Sadr City UK Guardian Newspaper Read Inside Iraq, Deborah Haynes's blog from the front line Crouching in the shade under the back of a tank, four Iraqi soldiers stir sugar into small glasses of tea as they take a break from guard duty near a row of battered shops in the heart of Sadr City. Passers-by throw wary glances at the troops as they come to terms with the new order in Baghdad's Shia slum, a stronghold of al-Mahdi Army militia until only three days ago when thousands of Iraqi forces took control. The unprecedented attempt to stamp government authority on one of the last remaining no-go areas in Iraq followed seven weeks of fighting between US and Iraqi forces and militiamen that left more than 1,250 people dead and 2,500 wounded. Of the injured, about 600 people have lost at least one limb. The Army moved in under a ceasefire deal struck ten days earlier between the main Shia political bloc in the Government and supporters of Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, the charismatic Shia cleric who commands the al-Mahdi Army. The offensive, involving 10,000 Iraqi troops, came after their successful campaign to restore Basra, Iraq's second city, to government control. No US forces are involved. They instead keep watch from the southern third of Sadr City. “There are no winners and there are no losers,” said Falah Shanshel, the leading MP for Hojatoleslam al-Sadr's political wing. “The victory was to stop the bloodshed of local people and to make sure that the sort of destruction you see all around does not happen again,” he told The Times as he toured the battle-scarred district, where building after building lies in ruins, wrecked by Hellfire missiles, roadside bombs, rockets and bullets. The guns are finally silent in Sadr City, but tensions between the two sides remain, with local leaders accusing Iraqi soldiers of mistreating residents as they conduct operations in the sprawling township - a charge the military denies. Gathered in the cramped front room of a sports club, members of the district council and the mayor held a meeting yesterday with several members of parliament's human rights committee. They aired a number of grievances about alleged violations of the ceasefire deal, while also discussing reconstruction plans. Hassan Athub, the Sadr City mayor, said that soldiers were out in the street offering water to pedestrians only if they cursed Hojatoleslam al-Sadr. He also said that troops forced one man who works at the Ministry of Interior out of his car in front of his wife, and took his pistol and 400,000 Iraqi dinars. “You have to make sure that commanders keep their soldiers disciplined and prevent them from making provocative actions,” Mr Athub said. Mohamed el-Haidari, an MP on the committee, promised to relay the complaints to the Government and asked the councilors to collect accurate information on any further alleged abuses. “We should all work together to make this [ceasefire] agreement work,” he said. Colonel Qassim Abdul Raheem, an army spokesman, rejected the abuse claims, insisting that the troops were receiving a warm welcome. “Only bad people who are worried about the security forces will make such fake allegations,” he said, adding that soldiers have been delivering food, water, medical equipment and other assistance across the whole of Sadr City. Before Tuesday they had only been able to gain access to the southern third, which has been under the control of US and Iraqi forces since late March. Forays any faurther had been deemed too dangerous until now. “We have not faced any fighting.Not even one bullet has been fired,” Colonel Raheem said. The only challenge was finding and defusing roadside bombs. Eighty have been recovered so far. Residents, however, are angry at the destruction of shops, apartment blocs and offices in repeated US airstrikes against militants. Surveying the blackened rubble of his apartment in despair, Faiz Mohammed said: “There was an airstrike and artillery rounds. Everything is destroyed. Thank goodness my family and I moved out the day before the missiles dropped.” Across the road is another legacy left by the push to regain control of Sadr City. A wall made from ugly concrete blocks lined side by side stretches as far as the eye can see, cutting off the bottom third of the district. Residents say that it prevents free movement and hurts commerce. The US military, which constructed the barrier, argues that it is designed to make life difficult for the militants. Driving through Sadr City, home to about two million people, it was clear that conditions remain strained despite the ceasefire. A lot of shops and market stalls are closed, there are fewer men, women and children than normal in the street and hardly any cars on the roads. “People are still worried about the security forces,” Mr Shanshel, the Sadrist MP, said. “The Government has to rebuild this confidence.” He also urged Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, to focus on reconstruction projects to return life in this impoverished eastern pocket of Baghdad back to normal.