Basra falls to unruly militias as British troops’ role recedes

Adnan Abuzaid, Azzaman
The most powerful authority in Basra is not the British garrison where more than 5,000 British troops have withdrawn behind barbed wire and cement blocks. It is the Iranian consulate where major decisions regarding the city are taken. And it is not difficult to see who is in control of the city’s thoroughfares and residential quarters. The roundabouts, major squares and even some small streets and neighborhoods are decorated with portraits of Iranian religious and political leaders (...) The Brits have left a huge power vacuum in southern Iraq in the aftermath of their miscalculated adventure. Their influence does not exceed the few square miles of their only base in Basra. And the militias have rushed to fill in the vacuum, spreading their control over key establishments including oil installations and dividing the city into separate zones of influence...
continua / continued