Perspective: Iraq battle lines fracture mixed neighborhoods

CAIRO – The religiously mixed middle-class neighborhoods of Al-Amal and Hurriyah that straddle Baghdad's famously dangerous airport road are turning into the front lines of the deepening civil war in Iraq.

It's in these two neighborhoods where men are murdered for having Shiite- or Sunni-sounding names; where Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army is hailed by some as protectors; and where former supporters of the Sunni insurgency aimed at driving out US forces now look to the US for protection. They are case studies in how old tribal animosities are flaring anew at a time when Iraqi security forces and US troops seem stretched too thin to react.

"The mortars came down around the house for hours, and then the machine guns opened up just up the street,'' says Mohammed al-Jiburi, member of a large Sunni tribe that is well represented in Al-Amal, following running battles between Shiites and Sunnis Sunday. "Did the police come? Did the Americans come? No. I've sent my wife and the kids away to a relatives on a farm," he says. "I'm staying put because I can't afford to have the house looted."

For the moment, Shiite fighters loyal to Mr. Sadr have driven dozens of Sunni families from both neighborhoods in recent days, say local residents and police.

The strengthening role of Sadr's Mahdi Army presents a disturbing window onto the possible path of this war. While they claim to be only targeting the "deserving" and are acting to protect their coreligionists, more and more the militia is taking a lead role in the sectarian battle unfolding daily on the ground in Baghdad.

"Some of us told them that our Sunni neighbors aren't terrorists, they should be left alone," says a Shiite man, who asked that his name not be used, estimating that five Sunni families have left his street in the past week. "They wouldn't listen - and some Shiites are now saying the solution is to drive the Sunnis out."

Evidence on the ground shows that militia groups have grown stronger since the current government took power early this year. While US advisory groups, such as the Iraq Study Group, are calling for mediation and reconciliation, street-level combatants seem determined to kill as many representatives of the other side as possible.

Sunni insurgents have responded with a stepped-up bombing campaign that has killed indiscriminately - but more Shiites than Sunnis - such as in the attack that murdered at least 60 mostly Shiite day laborers Tuesday. Most of the victims were poor Shiites from Sadr City.

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