in lieu of radio ...

a somewhat random collection of pages and thoughts started sept 16 2001. now that i'm not on the radio 6 hours every day, blogger allows all of us to harangue...

Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Confusion Reigns at Basra's Bridge Too Far
Sat March 29, 2003 08:55 AM ET

By David Fox
OUTSIDE BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - For many Iraqis trying to make their way into the besieged city of Basra, the final sweep of highway arching over the Euphrates river is proving to be a bridge too far.

Thousands of people were gathered on both sides of the bridge leading to the south of the city on Saturday, most trying to escape to find food and water, but others trying to get in.

There were scenes of pandemonium as a logjam of vehicles formed in front of two hulking British Challenger tanks guarding the bridge.

Ponies drawing carts piled high with vegetables reared and spilled their load as their masters tried to whip them through the crowd. Drivers gesticulated wildly and swore at each other.

"You dog. You son of a dog," bellowed one burly bus driver as a pick-up truck piled with ripe tomatoes cut him off.
The British soldiers guarding the approach, members of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, let fly with a few choice swearwords of their own as the crush of people tried to get between the tanks.

"Get away with you, you smelly Arab," shouted one in a Scots accent as thick as the black smoke billowing above the city.

Soldiers manning the checkpoints were mostly calm and good-natured but when the crush of the crowd got too much they appeared jittery.

"I don't blame them," said one soldier of the mass of people. "What if your family had no food and water and you were stuck on either side of the bridge. But orders are orders."

YOUNG MEN BARRED
Women, children and old men were being allowed to cross freely in either direction, but men "of fighting age" were reportedly not being allowed back into the city once they left.

Unfortunately those same men are usually the ones families send to find food and water outside the city, leaving relatives still without both, and also then worried for their safety.

"I have been trying to get back to Basra for two days," said Esam, a government clerk. "Why won't they let us go home? What right do they have?"

His words were echoed by dozens of men being denied access to the city, but their resentment appeared caused by the disruption the invasion has caused to their daily lives rather than the actual presence of British and U.S. forces.

Basra is surrounded by a ring of steel in the form of a vast army of British and U.S. tanks, artillery pieces, armored personnel carriers and thousands of troops.

But stubborn resistance from pro-Saddam Hussein loyalists still makes the city unsafe for occupation.

British officers say handfuls of Iraqi fighters are using civilian vehicles to move mortar launchers around the city and their mobility makes it difficult to pin them down.

"Why don't they just come in, there is no one there," said Faisal Ali. "The people they are fighting are few."

But dangers persist. One British officer told Reuters that some British soldiers had been "kidnapped" on the outskirts of the city, although a military spokesman in Qatar said he had no knowledge of such an incident.

In the city itself, residents were open and friendly when a Reuters team visited the southern suburbs.

"Please, you are welcome," said one man. "But you must stay. If you stay then they (the militia) will realize it is useless and give up."

Residents of the mostly Shi'ite city have bitter memories of when they rose up against Saddam after the 1991 Gulf War, hoping Western forces who drove Iraq from Kuwait would support them.

When that backing failed to materialize, Saddam brutally crushed the revolt, leaving Basra's residents wondering if they might suffer the same fate this time.

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