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Article: Mahdi Army flexing muscles Al-Sadr followers push Sunnis out.
- Article from:
- Columbia Daily Tribune
- Article date:
- June 10, 2007
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Columbia Daily Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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BAGHDAD - In the past 10 days, the fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-
Sadr's militia has resurfaced in force, making a push to run Sunnis
from Baghdad and to isolate Sunni enclaves in the west of the capital
from their brethren in the south.
Mahdi Army militiamen in the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of
Bayaa were reinforced by other Shiite fighters, and men in civilian
clothes with weapons have cordoned off the area. In the past 10 days,
Mahdi Army activity has escalated, intensifying in the past two days
with the capture of two Sunni mosques, residents and police said.
The push appears to be part of a strategy by the Mahdi Army to
control swaths of the once Sunni-dominated west bank of the ...