IRAQ: Five people were killed in fighting between Iraqi police and Shia militias in Najaf yesterday, the first clash there since US forces and guerrillas agreed a truce last week.
Gunfire echoed through the streets as police sped past in pick-up trucks to fight loyalists of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. This is despite a June 4th truce hailed by US forces as a "breakthrough" after weeks of fighting.
"I stood at the door of my house to take a look at the fighting, and I was shot," said Khaled Rida (18), a patient at Najaf's hospital who was hit in the neck by a bullet. "I didn't know who shot me because it was so chaotic."
Iraq's new interim government has pledged to deal firmly with militia groups intent on causing violence in the country. They are regarded as one of the main threats to Iraq's stability. "We have called upon him \ and others to abide by the rule of law, and to respect peaceful means," Prime Minister Mr Iyad Allawi told reporters in Baghdad. "Any continuity of using force will be dealt [with\] by the Iraqi government in a very serious and strong way."
Mr Ali al-Qusaidi, a doctor at Najaf's hospital, said five people were killed, including three Iraqi policeman. He said 27 people were wounded, many of whom were police officers, during the fighting that broke out overnight on Wednesday.
The cause of the fighting was not immediately clear. Some residents said the trouble started when Iraqi police pursued armed militiamen. The US-led administration in Iraq has been particularly keen to quell fighting in the holy city of Najaf ahead of the June 30th transfer of powers to an Iraqi interim government.