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Article: Baghdad reclaims Umm Qasr and prepares $500m sell-off: Iraqi army seizes deep-sea port from insurgents ahead of privatisation.(TRANSPORT: IRAQ)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- April 25, 2008
- Author:
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The Iraqi army has seized control of the deep-sea port of Umm Qasr from Shia insurgents, paving the way for the $500m privatisation of the site.
Umm Qasr's north and south ports are now under Iraqi government control. As MEED went to press, arrests were being made of the final members of Shia insurgent group Jaysh al-Mahdi (Jam), which had infiltrated operations at the north port.
Control of Umm Qasr has now been passed from the army to the Iraqi navy.
Sources close to the Baghdad government are reluctant to discuss details of the army's strategy in the area but say "several hundred" troops remain deployed in Umm Qasr to maintain security.
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