October 11, 2004
Rebels Loyal to Shiite Cleric Begin Handing In Arms in Iraq
By DEXTER FILKINS
and EDWARD WONG
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 11 - Militiamen loyal to the rebel cleric Moktada Al-Sadr surrendered hundreds of weapons today in what appeared to be an encouraging start to a deal struck with the Iraqi government and the American military to end months of fighting in the eastern Baghdad area known as Sadr City.
Dozens of guerrillas came forward to hand over mortars, grenade-launchers, machine guns and hundreds of artillery shells. The surrender of the group's heavy weapons is the principal element of an agreement struck over the weekend with the Iraqi government and American military forces.
In exchange, American commanders agreed to halt military operations against the group, known as the Mahdi Army, and to begin hundreds of millions of dollars worth of reconstruction projects in the impoverished and dilapidated Sadr City area. The Iraqi government also promised to release any member of the Mahdi Army, among the dozens picked up in sweeps here, who has not been charged with a crime.
By day's end, an undetermined number of weapons had been turned over, though by the looks of the piles of guns and ammunition stacked up, the numbers appeared to reach into the hundreds.
Still, given the firepower deployed by the militia, the total turned in today seemed to represent only a fraction of what the group has. Under the agreement, the Mahdi Army has until Friday to turn over its heavy weapons, after which American commanders said they would assess Mr. Sadr's compliance and, if necessary, resume military operations and conduct house-to-house searches.
Mr. Sadr, who has been in hiding for weeks, has not spoken publicly about the agreement, although his senior aides say he has endorsed it.
Still, for all the reservations harbored by the Americans and the Iraqi government, the first day of the weapon surrender suggested a level of cooperation on the part of Mr. Sadr that has been missing in the past. If the Mahdi Army did not turn in all of its weapons today, its fighters did at least begin to, and there were indications that more weapons were on the way.
``We have decided to give up our weapons, to disband,'' said Syed Aziz Abid, a representative of Mr. Sadr's dispatched to one of the police stations where the weapons were being turned over. ``God willing, there will be no more fighting.''
Mr. Abid, like other acolytes of Mr. Sadr, indicated that the Mahdi Army might be holding onto the bulk of its heavy weapons until later in the week, and would relinquish them after determining that the Americans and the Iraqi government were serious in keeping their part in the bargain.
The disarming of Mr. Sadr's militia in Sadr City, his stronghold, would represent a major victory for the Iraqi government and its intention to hold nationwide elections here by the end of January. The Mahdi Army would still retain hundreds of fighters in other cities across southern Iraq, and officials here have expressed fears that his militia held what amounted to veto power over the elections.
But circumstances have changed dramatically for Mr. Sadr in recent weeks, and that is why the American and Iraqi leaders are confident that he might finally be ready to disband his private army.
Mr. Sadr's attempt to commandeer the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf failed two months ago, when his militia was mauled by American forces and he was personally upstaged by the mainline Shiite religious establishment. In Sadr City, Mr. Sadr's militia has been under relentless American military pressure, with the American commander in Sadr City saying that his men killed an average of 40 Mahdi Army fighters every day.
Mr. Abid, the emissary sent to inspect the weapons sites, said he harbored no love for the American forces. Two of his brothers, both Mahdi Army fighters, have died in recent weeks at the hands of American forces, he said.
``If it were not for Moktada's orders, I would still be fighting,'' he said.
The weapons drop-off sites brought out an array of characters, some of them Mahdi Army loyalists following orders to turn in their weapons, and some of them unemployed Iraqis looking to make some quick cash for their old army equipment. Under the agreement, the Iraqi government agreed to pay above-market prices for any weapons turned in; $250 for a mortar, $170 for a grenade launcher, and for a bullet, 25 cents.
One Mahdi Army member named Ali Abdullah approached the Habibiya police station to drop off his AK-47 assault rifle, his face wrapped in a white scarf for fear that someone would try to photograph him. He said he would use the $150 he received for his rifle to buy a cart to sell sandwiches on the street.
``If Moktada says drop our weapons, then why should I resist?'' Mr. Abdullah said. ``He is the leader and he knows better than me what to do.''
``Look at my clothes,'' Mr. Abdullah said, pointing to his oil-spattered shirt and pants. ``I can do any work you ask me, just give me a chance. I've got a family to support. I'll take the $150. Believe me, most of the people here are just ignorant and oppressed.''
Col. Robert B. Abrams, the commander of the brigade overseeing Sadr City, said he was ``cautiously optimistic'' about the chances for peace in the area, in part because he believes Mr. Sadr has concluded that this is probably his last chance to enter the political mainstream.
``If he were to bring his militia back together, he knows he'll never have that chance again,'' Colonel Abrams said.
Mr. Sadr began to move toward the negotiating table about a month ago, about the same time the Americans began staging almost nightly airstrikes, using fighter jets and an AC-130 gunship to fire missiles and cannons into the streets.
On even a slow day, Colonel Abrams said, his troops kill at least 10 Mahdi Army fighters; they kill more than 40 on a medium-paced day, he said, and on a busy day, more than 100.
Asked how many busy days his soldiers had experienced, he said: ``A lot, a lot.''
One of the difficulties for American soldiers has been the planting of roadside bombs inside the crowded neighborhood, the colonel said. On one stretch of road less than a mile long, Colonel Abrams said, American soldiers found 120 bombs, or about one every forty feet.
The Mahdi Army is less a discrete military organization than a populist movement, and, as in the past, it will be difficult to tell whether it has actually disbanded. Colonel Abrams said he intends to examine the militia's command structure to see if it hangs together after the disarmament.
One of the most daunting problems faced by the Iraqi government and the Americans in the area is setting up a viable Iraqi security force that can replace Mr. Sadr's militia. At the moment, only about 500 Iraqi police officers show up for work out of the 800 assigned. Colonel Abrams estimated that a force of about 7,000 officers would be needed in the area, which has a population of more than 2 million.
``They're out-manned, out-gunned and, until recently, out-led by the militia,'' the colonel said.
Indeed, at the gates of one of the weapons-disposal sites, the Iraqi security officers checked the identification card of an American reporter and then made him an offer.
``Do you want to buy the weapons inside?'' he asked. ``Just $150 for a Kalashnikov.''
In violence today, three American soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded in a pair of attacks in Baghdad and Mosul. In the first, two American soldiers were killed and 5 wounded in a rocket attack in south Baghdad. In the second, one American soldier was killed and 9 wounded when a car bomb crashed into a convoy in Mosul.
el6Iraqi members of The New York Times staff contributed reporting for this article.