Six people died in clashes in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City on Monday, as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on other Arab states to reopen their embassies in the capital as a show of support for his government. According to the AP, a police commander said the dead in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City included three policemen and three civilians. Four other civilians were hurt in the violence, according to the officer.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said there had been sporadic "harassment fire" overnight in the sprawling Sadr City district where the Mahdi Army has its main stronghold. He said that an armed drone fired a Hellfire missile at a group of gunmen late Sunday, killing all three.
The clashes between Shiite militiamen and government forces came after followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday raised the stakes in the showdown with al-Maliki's government, refusing to disband their Mahdi Army. Al-Maliki has demanded that al-Sadr dissolve the country's biggest Shiite militia or his followers will not be allowed to run in provincial elections this fall.
During talks on Sunday, al-Maliki, assured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he will not back down in his confrontation with the militants.
Al-Maliki urged Arab governments to cancel his country's debts. "Iraq cannot alone shoulder the debt arising from the military adventures of (Saddam Hussein's) regime," al-Maliki told reporters on Monday as he departed for Kuwait, where he will attend a conference with Iraq's neighbors and world powers. They will discuss ways to help Iraq secure its borders and improve internal security and stability.
He also urged other governments to open diplomatic missions in Baghdad. Most countries have been reluctant to do so due to safety concerns. "I am a bewildered by the position of these nations. Do they want to support Iraq? Iraq has emerged from a crisis and needs to be supported," al-Maliki said.
Meanwhile, Iraq sent its foreign minister to a gathering of Gulf states in Bahrain Monday, where Iraq and its U.S. backers planned to make a case for further debt relief and symbolic steps, such as visits to Baghdad by Arab diplomats. A larger gathering of Arab states and Iraq's international backers is planned for Tuesday in Kuwait.
Rice challenged Arab states to answer security improvements and political advances in Iraq, saying there are few excuses left for delay. She started a three-day Mideast trip with a visit to Baghdad on Sunday, where she said she was encouraged despite a recent uptick in violence. She signed an agreement Monday with the United Arab Emirates for cooperation as the oil-rich Gulf federation works to develop civilian nuclear power, and was holding private talks with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister.
Speaking to reporters Sunday in Baghdad, Rice said she would make the case that much has changed inside Iraq in the last year, owing partly to the additional presence of American troops and also to what she says is growing political cohesion among Iraq's sectarian and ethnic factions.
"Adjustments are going to have to be made," in the way Arab states regard Iraq, she said.
