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{ 2008 03 29 }

Shiite Intra-sectarian Rivalries Exploding in Iraq

Armed forces of the Shiite controlled central government of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki have been battling rival Shiite militias in Basra, Baghdad, and a number of other predominantly Shiite cities this past week.  The main rival Shiite parties are:

1. The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (formerly known as SCIRI - Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution) and an associated militia, “The Badr Brigades.”  They support the central government.

2. The Sadr Party (and its “Mahdi Army”) controlled by anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

3. Fadhila Party (a splinter group from the Sadr Party), one of whose chief leaders is Muhammad al-Waeli, the governor of Basra.

See BBC Analysis

UPDATE March 30, 2008 — See Anthony H. Cordesman, “A Civil War Iraq Can’t Win (Op-Ed piece),” New York Times, March 30, 2008

Posted by Ted Thornton on Saturday, March 29, 2008, at 10:03 am. Filed under Arab World, Iraq, Islam and Politics. Follow any responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. You can post a comment or trackback from your blog.

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