How low can you get? British troops at Basra report that a couple of thousands of civilians attempting toleave the city were fired on from *inside* the city. They suspect it's Saddam's thugs ie the Fedayeen. The Brits tried to intercede but wasn't quite successful.
Here's the article from CNN:
Quote:
Thousands of civilians trying to flee Basra Friday were fired upon by militia forces backing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, British military officials said.
They told CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour that once the gunfire started, many of the civilians turned around and ran back into the city.
It is unclear whether there were any casualties, according to British soldiers watching the ordeal unfold near a main bridge on the city's west side.
Amanpour said it was exactly the kind of situation British forces had hoped to avoid because they do not want to get sucked into street fighting.
An Iraqi prisoner of war being interrogated by British authorities said prior to "Operation Iraqi Freedom," Saddam had about 4,000 militia members in Basra, Amanpour said, but the POW told her about half of the militia members deserted their posts once the bombing started.
British soldiers continue to fend off militia members and are trying to fight the irregular forces they believe are keeping civilians from leaving their homes.
Originally, coalition troops had not planned on entering Basra unless invited to do so by the city's civilians. Over the past week, that has changed.
British officials now say the objective now is to get humanitarian food and medical supplies into the southern Iraqi city as soon as possible.
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