A May 29 IPS report on clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga troops and militiamen of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad has been confirmed by an Iraqi member of Parliament, representing the Sunni-led Iraqi Accordance Front (Al-Tawafuq). Speaking on condition of...
In Iraq, Broken Lives and Broken Hearts
BAGHDAD - With the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq in its fifth year, one leading study estimates that more than 655,000 Iraqis have been killed – with no end to the violence yet in sight. Left behind are loved ones who continue to mourn their loss, as well as what...
Anger Builds in Fallujah Over Security Crackdown
FALLUJAH - The city that was mostly destroyed by the U.S. military operation Phantom Fury in November 2004 has been under curfew for over two weeks, with no signs of relief. Located 45 mi. west of Baghdad, the city made headlines when four Blackwater USA security...
Sick of Iraq’s Government
BAGHDAD - Reports of the poor health among high-ranking Iraqi politicians are being seen as symbolic of the popular mood here about the US-backed government. In late February, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was flown to neighboring Jordan for medical treatment amid...
Kurds and Shia Fight for Power in Baghdad
BAGHDAD - A massacre by members of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army on Sunni worshippers earlier this month sparked clashes between patrolling Kurdish militiamen in southwest Baghdad and the Mahdi army, raising tensions that fighting between the groups could...
Curfew Begins to Choke Samarra
SAMARRA - At least 10 residents have died as the result of a curfew imposed by the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, local doctors say. Residents in this city of 300,000 located 125 km north of Baghdad have been struggling to find food, water, and medical supplies....
Iraqis Blame US Occupation for Bloody Week
BAGHDAD - Iraqis blame the U.S. occupation for the failure of two parallel security plans drawn up by U.S. forces and Iraqi troops that failed dramatically with the bombings last week that killed more than 300 people in Baghdad. Under the security plans, additional...
Basra Splits Between Warring Shi’ites
BASRA - Oil-rich Basra in the south of Iraq is getting caught up in an increasingly more fierce battle between warring Shi'ite groups. Basra, the second largest city in Iraq with a population of 2.6 million, is the capital city of the southern Basra province, and...
Now the South Erupts
BASRA - The eruption of demonstrations in the south of Iraq this week could rob the occupation forces of what was considered a critical bastion of support. The southern areas of Iraq have long been said to be secure, and people there peaceful towards the occupation...
Iraqis Search for Political Leadership
BAGHDAD - Many Iraqis are now looking to local political leadership to fill wide gaps in a fractured government that is failing to provide security and basic needs. "Iraqis feel lost amongst too many political currents that blew their country away with their...


