My God, my God make their fire against us like water

12 Apr 2008 11:34:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD, April 12 (Reuters) - Huddled in her house in the Baghdad Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, Salwa Naser recited prayers as gunfire echoed outside.

"My God, my God," the 24-year-old teacher pleaded, "make their fire against us like water."

She is one of 2 million residents of the sprawling district on the eastern edge of Baghdad that in recent weeks has seen some of the worst street battles in the Iraqi capital since U.S. forces drove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003.

Late last month, the government launched a crackdown on the Mehdi Army militia of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the southern city of Basra.

The clashes, in which hundreds of people were killed, quickly spread north to Sadr's stronghold in eastern Baghdad, turning it into a key front in the five-year-old Iraq conflict.

For weeks, masked militiamen loyal to Sadr have roamed the streets, firing on U.S. and Iraqi patrols and sustaining nightly missile strikes from U.S. drone aircraft.

The continuous fighting has turned daily life for many of the slum's residents into a living hell.

"Our suffering starts at night when the Mehdi Army fighters sneak around the narrow streets and we fear air strikes could happen any minute," said Laith Majeed, 22, a university student.

"The innocent people are always the victims. We cannot sleep at night and we're losing patience. These are the worst days I have lived and I don't think life will ever get back to normal."

As if gunfire, mortars and missiles were not enough, Sadr City has been under a vehicle blockade for the past two weeks that has led to shortages of medicine and soaring food prices.

The blockade was partly lifted on Saturday, allowing some Iraqis who had stayed away since late last month to return.

HUNDREDS WOUNDED

Muhammad Munthir, a doctor who lives outside Sadr City but works at one of its two hospitals, did not dare enter the slum during the blockade for fear of U.S. air strikes.

Imam Ali hospital, where he returned to work on Saturday, and Sadr hospital on the slum's eastern edge, have treated hundreds of wounded in the past week.

More than one hundred people, including Mehdi Army fighters and civilians, have been killed in Sadr City since Sunday.

"Thank God I came today and resumed my work with my colleagues," Munthir said. "I hope this can continue."

Others in Sadr City have been forced to adapt to the fighting, making changes, big and small, to their routines.

A group of boys wearing Real Madrid and Barcelona soccer shirts played dominoes and backgammon in an alley in central Sadr City. The winners were cheered, while the losers were obliged to buy juice or tea for the rest.

"We cannot play football out in the open, it is too dangerous, so we came here to have fun," one said.

Other residents sympathised with the fighters, who have vowed to battle U.S. forces until they are driven from the capital.

"God bless you, God bless you," a woman shouted from her doorway to a group of six militiamen carrying rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and heavy machineguns. "You lift our heads higher and show the world we will fight the occupiers!"

A 12-year-old boy, Mustapha, pleaded with another group of fighters that included his uncle to take him with them into battle, only to be sent home in tears.

In house nearby, children were sleeping despite the gunfire and explosions.

"They've become used to the sound of bombing," their mother said. "Now, they sleep right through it." (Writing by Noah Barkin; editing by Andrew Dobbie)