Going nowhere

Four years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, Iraqis are dying or being forced from their homes daily by a vicious sectarian war, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

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An Iraqi boy runs past a US army Bradley armoured vehicle with the 9th Cavalry Regiment in Baghdad's Sheikh Ali neighbourhood. Iraqis are increasingly pessimistic about the future, and fewer than one in five have faith in the US-led occupation of the country following the invasion of Iraq and the ouster of Saddam Hussein, a poll recent revealed. The survey, contrasting with a survey two years ago, indicated that barely a quarter -- 26 per cent -- feel safe in their own neighbourhoods as the anniversary of the US-led invasion is marked this week Iraqi security forces rush to the site of a car bomb attack in Kirkuk. A series of coordinated car bombs and mortar attacks killed 15 people and wounded dozens more in the ethnically-volatile Iraqi oil hub (top); late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (right) and Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan -- who was executed on Tuesday -- attending a military parade at the Victory Square, Baghdad

On Tuesday, Iraqis marked the anniversary of the 20 March 2003 invasion that toppled the former once-feared regime but plunged the nation into bitter sectarian conflict that has left tens of thousands dead. On the same day, former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan was hung before dawn for crimes against humanity in relation to the execution of 148 Shias in the 1980s.

Despite a massive US and Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad that begun 14 February, armed attacks continue in the capital. Four car bombings in Baghdad killed at least nine people and wounded dozens on Tuesday, a day after at least 55 people were killed or found murdered in Iraq.

Protestors took to the streets in Baghdad and other cities, calling for an end to the occupation and denouncing those who collaborate with the occupiers. In Al-Sadr City in Baghdad, protestors called on the government to halt the building of a US base in their area. Around 700,000 Iraqis or more have been killed since the US-led occupation began in 2003. American losses include 3,221 troops so far.

Leaders of Al-Mehdi Army, the Shia militia who are suspected of fomenting sectarian strife, are said to have left Iraq to neighbouring countries to escape arrest during Operation Imposing Law. While aligned to the political process, Moqtada Al-Sadr's supporters have threatened to bring down Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's government if it pursues plans to build a US base in Al-Sadr city. In Babel, 90 kilometres south of Baghdad, police imposed a curfew and searched the homes of Al-Mehdi supporters following a failed attempt on the life of General Abbas Al-Jaburi, commander of Al-Aqrab unit.

As security moderately improved in Baghdad during the implementation of Operation Imposing Law, several families returned to their areas. But a recent attack on two Sunni mosques in Al-Amel, a southern Baghdad neighbourhood, has slowed down the return of the refugees.

The explosion of a gas tanker filled with poisonous gas just south of Fallujah left 10 dead. Nearly 350 were hospitalised after inhaling the gas. The incident was blamed on Al-Qaeda, making it even less popular in the area. In a meeting with tribal chiefs in Al-Ramadi, Prime Minister Al-Maliki commended local leaders for their efforts to keep Al-Qaeda out of their towns.

The Iraqi parliament had held a secret session early this week to discuss pensions for its members, according to the pro-government newspaper Al-Sabah. The pensions are expected to be generous, with members of the interim National Assembly -- including those who stayed for only six months in office -- qualifying for a monthly payment of $4,000. Parliament so far has not discussed the much-criticised oil law. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is still trying to form a united front with which to challenge the current government.

In a sudden visit, Australian Prime Minister John Howard arrived in Baghdad for talks with Al-Maliki, saying that Australia had no intention of withdrawing its troops from Iraq. The two prime ministers discussed the outcome of the Baghdad conference held earlier this month. The conference recommended that committees of experts be formed to coordinate security, control borders, and enhance cooperation. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has been holding talks with Iranian, Jordanian and Syrian counterparts to activate the three committees of experts. Further cooperation among neighbouring countries is expected to emerge from the international conference due to be held in April. Both Egypt and Turkey offered to host the summit.

Experts are hoping that the Baghdad summit will bring about a rapprochement between the US and both Iran and Syria, a result that would be beneficial to Iraq. "Iraq should break away from the limitations imposed on it by its own neighbours as well as by the US. Baghdad can act as a mediator between Washington, on the one hand, and Tehran and Damascus on the other," Analyst Saad Al-Hashemi said. In Washington, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told a congressional committee that the Syrians were interested in holding further talks with the United States.

As the war enters its fifth year, a new poll has indicated that US public opinion has soured even more, with just 32 per cent of Americans saying they favoured the war, compared to 72 per cent on the eve of the invasion. A BBC survey said some 55 per cent of the British public feel less safe now, with only five per cent feeling safer since the toppling of Saddam's regime.

Estimates of Iraqi civilian casualties over the past four years vary wildly, with the Iraq Body Count website figure of 58,800 among the more conservative. At least two million Iraqis have fled the country with 1.8 million more displaced within its borders, according to UN figures.