Shiite-vs.-Sunni violence turns into open warfare

[ECH1969]

Bloodshed that has continued for months between rival Shiite Muslims and Sunni Arabs has erupted into open warfare among the towns and lush palm groves along the Tigris River.

Over the weekend, Taysser Musawi, a Shiite cleric in Balad, said Shiite leaders in the town had appealed to Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential cleric whose bloc is the largest in Iraq's Shiite-led government, to send militiamen to defend local Shiites and take revenge.

Shiite fighters responded in force, local police said. Witnesses said Shiite fighters began hunting down Sunnis, allegedly setting up checkpoints in the area to stop travelers and demand to know whether they were Shiite or Sunni.

In tiny Sunni towns throughout the area, Sunni men and boys as young as 10 took up arms to defend against any Shiite militias entering, said Khaled al-Jubouri, a Sunni sheik in Duluiyah. Members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia were blocking Sunni families from picking up more of their dead from the streets, he said.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003308395_balad17.html

[Javaman]

1. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Isn't civil war fun?

Sigh.

Colossal racist failure*.