General warns of rising levels of violence in Basra · Gloomy assessment echoed by minister
· Provincial elections likely to be delayed
Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday June 21, 2006
The Guardian
British troops are facing an increasingly dangerous security situation in Basra, with rising levels of violence, a senior British officer warned yesterday.
Painting a gloomy picture of British-controlled southern Iraq, Lieutenant General Nick Houghton, Britain's chief of joint operations, also told the Commons defence committee that it would be "some time" before Britain could hand over responsibility to Iraq for defending the country's crucial oil producing region in the northern Gulf. Describing the situation as "worrying" he said provincial elections in the region, originally planned for the summer, would probably have to be delayed until the autumn.
The general's assessment was in contrast with recent upbeat comments about the security situation in Iraq by Tony Blair. But the general's words were echoed by the armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, who told the committee: "I am conscious of the fact that the first time I visited Iraq I was on the streets with our soldiers who were in soft hats, no body armour. I don't think that could happen now."
Gen Houghton made clear yesterday that the British army's main hope in Basra is that the new Iraqi national army and police force is able to take on the lead responsibility for maintaining security by the end of the year. The most immediate aim, he said, was an "increased use of the Iraqi army on the streets of Basra".
"There is a worrying amount of violence and murder carried out between rival Shia factions," he said. "The security situation in Basra has no doubt got worse of late due to the protracted period of talks to form the government." That, he said, allowed "a period of time in which politics that should have been conducted more appropriately, actually were conducted through violent means on the streets". Gen Houghton continued: "There has been inter-faction rivalry, much of it then reflecting in non-judicial murder between rival Shia factions struggling for political and economic power."
(more)
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1802401,00.html