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Shia militia takes city as Ukrainians flee
Ukrainian troops surrendered the eastern city of Kut to Shia militants yesterday, abandoning civilian officials, including 13 Britons who escaped under fire, coalition sources said.
A South African security contractor was killed in the fighting and his body is said to have been left in the city.
The retreat of the Ukrainian contingent, against the orders of the US military commander in Iraq, has privately infuriated coalition leaders.
The capture of Kut, a provincial capital of about 380,000 people, marks the biggest victory scored by the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, since he ordered his Mahdi army militia to launch an uprising at the weekend.
Fighting was so fierce - with about 50 rocket propelled grenades fired at the coalition compound - that US air support was called in to help. But this failed to prevent the defenders' retreat.
Ukraine's defence ministry said: "At the request of the Americans, and to preserve the life of our military, the commander of the Ukrainian contingent decided to evacuate the civil administration staff and Ukrainian troops from Kut."
A spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the civilian arm of the occupation government, denied the troops had abandoned civilian officials.
However, well-placed coalition sources said the Ukrainians had left the civilians to fend for themselves, protected only by lightly armed private security contractors. They added that the troops had pulled out against the orders of the US commander, General Ricardo Sanchez.
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The fighting in Kut, a predominantly Shia city on the river Tigris, began at about 3pm on Tuesday, when the CPA compound came under fire. The attackers were held back by private guards from British and American security firms. A 60-man Ukrainian detachment was also at the base, but its contribution was said to be unclear.
Three hours later, gunmen attacked a building housing five security personnel from another company, named as Hart. One of them, a South African, was killed.
At dawn yesterday, the situation worsened. The main body of the Ukrainian battalion, based in a camp across the Tigris from the CPA compound, made several attempts to reach the civilians, but was beaten back by the militia.
Coalition sources said the Ukrainian contingent in the CPA compound was ordered to leave about 6.30am to join the rest of the battalion for the retreat from Kut.
Coalition sources said the civilian officials made their own way out of the city in a convoy protected only by private guards. Four Hart security men escaped by stealing a car, but are thought to have had to leave the body of their comrade behind.
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The Kut fiasco marked the first time coalition forces have abandoned their positions.
Until the radical cleric Sadr launched his revolt on Saturday, Kut had been a relatively quiet spot where attacks on coalition forces or civilians were rare.
Sadr's militia have proved to be a far stronger military force than the coalition had believed. By last night, they were effectively in control of Kut and the town of Kufa. Sadr, meanwhile, was surrounded by his followers at a shrine in the holy city of Najaf.
His insurrection has spread to at least four other cities, including the Shia slums of eastern Baghdad.
The coalition had viewed Sadr, 30, as an inexperienced, impulsive leader. But he has shown the ability to launch effective military strikes in several places at once.
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