Brits Bolster Iraqi Forces in Basra

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Brits Bolster Iraqi Forces in Basra
April 07, 2008
The Independent

Six months after withdrawing from Basra because their presence was said to be provoking violence, British troops have returned to the city.

Around 150 UK military personnel with Mastiff and Warrior armoured vehicles have been deployed in the past few days alongside Iraqi government forces in the aftermath of fierce fighting against the Mahdi Army. The Ministry of Defence described the move as "a logical extension of our training role that will provide additional mentoring and monitoring to the Iraqi army". However, British troops have until now been kept strictly outside the city limits, with officials saying that stepping back into the quagmire of Basra would set back the exit strategy from Iraq.

The Americans have been pressing for UK forces, who are now stationed at the airport, to be more actively involved in operations in the city. The British return to Basra comes days after the British government announced that Gordon Brown's pledge to reduce troop levels by 1,500 this spring could not be fulfilled because of security concerns.

The development comes alongside the disclosure that up to 1,500 Iraqi soldiers refused to fight, or deserted in the operation against the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Shia militia. The numbers, according to Iraqi and American sources, included dozens of officers and at least two senior field commanders. Iraqi officials said that Colonel Rahim Jabbar and Lieutenant Colonel Shakir Khalaf, a brigade commander and his deputy, have been suspended for declining to fight.

In addition to those who refused to follow orders, about 100 members of the Iraqi security forces simply changed sides, to the Mahdi Army. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has faced strong criticism over the operation, which he had led after flying from Baghdad to Basra and which ended, critics say, in a stalemate with an Iranian-brokered peace deal. The Independent revealed how Maliki countermanded the plans of Lieutenant General Mohan al- Furayji, the Iraqi commander in charge of the south, who had wanted to wait until June to carry out the operation after a build-up of resources, economic projects on the ground and an offer of amnesty to the Shia fighters.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/brits-bolster-iraqi-forces-in-basra.html