Main players in Iraq's Basra

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL30629835

March 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. military confirmed on Sunday that its special units have joined Iraqi government troops in a crackdown against fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to win control of the southern oil city of Basra.

Two powerful factions of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, are fighting for power in the city along with a smaller Shi'ite party, Fadhila.

Here are some details on the main players:

* SADR MOVEMENT:

-- Sadr loyalists are widely seen as the most influential group on the streets of Basra. Sadr's political movement and Mehdi Army militia have popular support.

-- The Sadrists recently signed a truce with other major Shi'ite parties, agreeing that militia members would not carry guns openly as long as security forces do not target them.

-- Unlike the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Sadr opposes the idea of federalism for the south.

-- The militia has kept a low profile since Sadr called a ceasefire last August and extended it last month.

-- But gunbattles in Baghdad and the southern city of Kut last week have raised fears that it may be unravelling at a time when the U.S. military is withdrawing 20,000 troops.

* SUPREME ISLAMIC IRAQI COUNCIL:

-- The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) has a strong following in Basra and, like the Sadrists, has built up support by running charities to help the poor.

-- The party, engaged in a power struggle with Sadr's followers across much of the south, joined Sadr in opposing the governor of Basra, who belongs to the smaller Shi'ite Fadhila Party.

-- The Supreme Council favours the creation of a large federal region with wide autonomy that would include the nine southern mainly Shi'ite provinces.