Najaf, Iraq — U.S. tanks and troops rolled back into the centre of Najaf and battled with Shiite militants Sunday, reigniting violence in the holy city just as delegates in Baghdad opened a conference meant to be a landmark in the country's movement toward democracy.
The collapse of the ceasefire in Najaf after the failure of negotiations cast a shadow over the National Conference in Baghdad, which gathered 1,000 religious, tribal and political leaders from across Iraq. Some of the delegates threatened to walk out unless the government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi put an end to the fighting.
In more of the violence plaguing the country, insurgents fired a mortar barrage hours after the conference opened — apparently targeting Baghdad's Green Zone district where the gathering was taking place but instead hitting a commuter bus station, killing two people and wounding 17 others, according to the Health Ministry.
Also in Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier hours before the conference began. At least 931 U.S. servicemembers have died in Iraq since March 2003.
U.S. soldier stands guard in a haze of smoke Sunday during a cordon and search in a neighborhood outside of Sadr City in Baghdad. (David Gilkey/Getty Images)
In the volatile Sunni city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, U.S. warplanes bombed three neighbourhoods Sunday afternoon, killing five civilians and wounding six others, said, Dr. Adil Khamis, of Fallujah General Hospital.
The National Conference aims to give a broader spectrum of Iraqis a voice in the political process and increase the legitimacy of Allawi's interim government, which is deeply dependent on American troops and money even after the end of the U.S. occupation.
But Mr. Allawi's attempts to show he is in control — already strained by the unending Sunni-led insurgency — have been undermined by the fighting in Najaf against the militiamen of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The country's Shiite majority has been angered at the sight of U.S. troops firing around some of their holiest sites — and many have blamed Mr. Allawi's government.
After the government pulled out of negotiations the day before, U.S. armoured troop carriers and tanks Sunday morning moved back into the centre of Najaf, where Mr. al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been in control of the Old City.
Dozens of explosions from tank shells and mortars as well as constant small arms fire shook Najaf's vast cemetery, where Mahdi Army fighters have been battling U.S. troops amid the tombs since the violence first broke out here Aug. 5.
An explosion, believed to be from a tank round, landed near the outer wall of the compound housing the revered Imam Ali Shrine, the militants' informal headquarters and Iraq's holiest Shiite site, said al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany. “The shrine was not hit,” he said.
Any damage to the shrine itself would further enrage Iraq's Shiite majority, and swell anger at Mr. Allawi's government.
As the explosions and gunfire rang out through Najaf on Sunday, police ordered all journalists to leave the city or face arrest.
The order would mean that the only news coverage of the violence in the holy city would be provided by reporters embedded with the U.S. military. The military had no immediate comment.
In Baghdad, some 1,300 religious, political and civic leaders gathered for the unprecedented three-day conference, which will help choose a 100-member national council meant to serve as a watchdog over the country's interim government before elections scheduled for January.
“This conference is not the end of the road for us, it is the first step ... to open up horizons of dialogue,” Mr. Allawi told the delegates. “Your blessed gathering here is a challenge to the forces of evil and tyranny that want to destroy this country.”
Some 70 factions are participating in the conference, though several are boycotting it — including Mr. al-Sadr's movement.
But the Najaf violence cast a shadow from the start.
After the opening speeches, Nadim al Jadari, an official with the Shiite Political Council, ran onto the platform and threatened to quit the conference — which would be a painful blow to the government — unless negotiations were restarted to end the fighting.
“The Iraqi government bears the responsibility for what is going on in Najaf. It has brought U.S. forces to hit our people in Najaf,” said Falah Hassan, another group official. “Our demand is to halt the military operations in Najaf and other parts of Iraq. We will withdraw from the conference within 24 hours if our demands are not met.”
In an attempt to assuage the complaints, a working committee was formed to find a peaceful solution to the tension in Najaf.
Mr. al-Sadr, a fiery young cleric, has drawn support among some with his denunciations of the continued U.S. domination of the country. He has depicted the fight by his followers as a campaign against occupation.
