HoustonChronicle.com - Municipal crews return to work in Sadr City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ - A weapons-buyback program has been successful enough in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City that workers will begin collecting garbage today and undertaking other public projects in the sprawling Shiite Muslim slum, officials said Friday.
It will be the first time such work has been done in Sadr City's northern two-thirds since Aug. 5, when rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia engaged in fierce fighting with U.S. troops. The fighting ended Oct. 11 when American forces and al-Sadr agreed to the buyback program.
On the agenda: cleaning raw sewage from the streets, fixing broken water pipes, repairing downed power lines and hauling away heaps of trash. About 130,000 workers will be employed in the effort........
"U.S. military officials said violence had slackened noticeably throughout Sadr City since the peace agreement. 'Part of Sadr City realized what they were missing,' said Lt. Col. David Seigel, of the 1st Cavalry Division, which patrols Sadr City.
But the military is aware that al-Sadr suggested last week that his Mahdi Army militia could rise again if U.S.-led troops attack insurgents in Fallujah, a largely Sunni Muslim city to Baghdad's west.
An al-Sadr aide said he meant only to provide moral support, but some in the Mahdi Army may interpret the comment as a call to arms.
'It's something we are aware of and looking out for,' Seigel said."
It will be the first time such work has been done in Sadr City's northern two-thirds since Aug. 5, when rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia engaged in fierce fighting with U.S. troops. The fighting ended Oct. 11 when American forces and al-Sadr agreed to the buyback program.
On the agenda: cleaning raw sewage from the streets, fixing broken water pipes, repairing downed power lines and hauling away heaps of trash. About 130,000 workers will be employed in the effort........
"U.S. military officials said violence had slackened noticeably throughout Sadr City since the peace agreement. 'Part of Sadr City realized what they were missing,' said Lt. Col. David Seigel, of the 1st Cavalry Division, which patrols Sadr City.
But the military is aware that al-Sadr suggested last week that his Mahdi Army militia could rise again if U.S.-led troops attack insurgents in Fallujah, a largely Sunni Muslim city to Baghdad's west.
An al-Sadr aide said he meant only to provide moral support, but some in the Mahdi Army may interpret the comment as a call to arms.
'It's something we are aware of and looking out for,' Seigel said."
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