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Baghdad Neighborhood Proud Of Resisting U.S. Forces
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Aadhamiyah
District, in the northwest of the Baghdad, was the scene of a
day-long battle
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BAGHDAD,
April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As riots are breaking
on regular basis by Iraqi prisoners of war, sparking questions about the
destiny of thousand of POWs, a Baghdad neighborhood residents sounded
their pride for meeting U.S. soldiers with fiery resistance rather than
roses.
Aadhamiyah
District, in the northwest of the Baghdad, was the scene of a day-long
battle Thursday that, according to residents, pitted U.S. forces, fresh
from their triumphant tour of central Baghdad the day before, against a
dedicated mini-army of Iraqis and Arab volunteers.
Caught
in the crossfire, the Sunni mosque of Abu Hanifa bore the scars. The
minaret was nearly cracked in two from the tank fire, according to AFP.
More
than 20 "martyrs" are buried under the olive trees outside the
Abu Hanifa mosque, the name of each slipped into Pepsi bottles stuck in
the ground, reported the AFP.
The
Aadhamiyah neighborhood, resident Faisal Sayed Jafar noted proudly, did
not give a warm reception to U.S. troops.
"We're
the only part of Baghdad that didn't welcome the American soldiers with
flowers," he said with a smile. "Of course, we paid a
price."
Residents
here said the head cleric at the mosque, Sheikh Watheq al-Obeidi, was
taken prisoner with his two sons by U.S. troops.
Jafar,
a former trainer for the national swimming team, refused to accept that
many Baghdadis welcomed U.S. troops.
"One
mustn't be fooled by people's smiles. Inside, our hearts are
bleeding," he insisted. "We refuse to accept the occupation
and collapse of our country."
Neighbors
said that among the dead were some civilians and Iraqi troops but also
"fedayeen," or "patriots," from Syria, Lebanon and
Yemen.
"The
fedayeen came from outlying neighborhoods because they knew people here
would be more supportive," said Riyad Abdullah, a spice merchant.
But
the Arab volunteers failed to understand their guns and grenades were no
match for U.S. firepower. Estimates are that up to 30 people died here
Thursday.
"We
were pleased to see the neighborhood resist, but we suffered, and many
didn't stay here because of the air strikes. Now we've got to return to
normal," Abdullah concluded.
With
chaos engulfing much of Baghdad due to a leadership vacuum, Aadhamiyah
quickly organized a 30-strong army of volunteers - some armed with
revolvers, others simply with chunks of wood - to protect the
neighborhood from looting.
At
Friday prayers, "a doctor came to tell us that hospitals had been
looted and some patients had left their beds. The imam said one
shouldn't take what belongs to everyone," Abdullah said.
In
the absence of police and other authorities, the neighborhood committee
has been making rounds to clear trash and carry out other basic
municipal functions.
"For
300 to 400 years we've taken pride in our neighborhood," said
another resident.
"This
is where the mother of caliph Harun al-Rashid is buried," he said,
referring to the fabled Abbasid ruler who died in 809.
In
the neighborhood's alleyways, debris from the battle still blocked
traffic. The imam's blue Volkswagen Beetle lay in the ruin, along with
around 10 other charred cars.
Camp
Freddy Witnesses Daily Riots
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Iraqi
POWs are treated strictly in accordance with the Geneva
Conventions, a senior U.S. MP claimed
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As the number of Iraqi inmates has increased to some 6,000 in Camp
Freddy, U.S. and British forces controlling the only concentration camp
for Iraqi prisoners of war have had to cope with daily riots.
Camp
Freddy, as the detention camp in southern Iraq is known, has grown
markedly since it was established in the opening days of the war by
British military engineers, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).
The
heavily guarded area of desert enclosed by razor wire and sand barriers
still has the big white tents used as temporary "pens", but
now the prisoners are being transferred to two new semi-permanent
facilities in the compound.
Fights
involving water bottles filled with sand or rocks being thrown and tent
stakes wielded as spears have erupted regularly, a U.S. psychological
operations officer, Major Joel Droba, said.
But
he added that, so far, the riots have only pitted groups of Iraqis
against others, rather than targeting the coalition military police (MP)
watching them.
Outside,
a crowd of Iraqis looking for relatives are kept to one side. A female
U.S. soldier took their details and information about their loved ones,
entering it into a computer for the use of camp commanders and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Inside,
visitors were kept well away from the prisoners. Journalists did see
three Iraqi detainees waiting outside the hospital area, two of them
sitting quietly on the sand while the other lay on his side, reported
AFP.
Initially,
those brought to the camp were captured by or surrendered to British
forces in southeast Iraq, but with U.S. forces pushing past Baghdad and
taking control of much of the country.
All
are being treated strictly in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, a
senior U.S. MP, Captain Lisa Weidenbush, claimed.
ICRC
inspectors, she claimed, "are very pleased with the humane
treatment of our prisoners."
All
are provided with blankets and a box of food and hygiene products, and
undergo medical screening, she said.
Those
men who can prove that they are civilians are transported back to their
communities and released.
The
others are sorted into one of two categories: Enemy Prisoner of War
(EPW) or unlawful combatant.
The
first comprises soldiers who fought in uniform, while the latter covers
all others - including the notorious Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary force
and armed Baath party members.
One
U.S. officer from the military legal unit who declined to give his name
admitted that the decisions to hold prisoners often stemmed from
circumstantial clues, such as individuals found to be carrying large
sums of money, or "civilians" wearing military boots.
Under
the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war have to be released once a
conflict is over.
He
said that could only be determined by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld.
But
he added "I don't think it will be the same situation" as the
U.S. "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan since October 2001.
That campaign has resulted in hundreds of detainees being held
indefinitely at a U.S. base in Cuba outside normal Geneva Convention
guidelines.
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