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Article: In Sadr City, a Repressed but Growing Rage; Limited by Cease-Fire, Mahdi Army Fighters Increasingly Restless as Iraqi Troops Go on Offensive
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 23, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Outside the tan, high-walled house, Shiite militiamen stood
guard. Inside, men sat on a red carpet, their backs against a wall
adorned with images of Shiite saints, their anger rising with each
sentence. Hashim Naseer, a tribal leader, remembered how Iraqi
soldiers arrested his brother early this month at a nearby park
along with other Shiite fighters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi
Army.
"We thought this government was for Shiites, but now they have
become worse than Saddam Hussein's regime," said Naseer, 40. "We
placed much faith in the Iraqi security forces, but they are taking
advantage of us."
Seven months after intense clashes with U.S. and Iraqi government
forces rocked Baghdad's ...