Pilgrims throng Iraq holy city
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-11 13:45

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims thronged the Iraqi city of Kerbala on Sunday for a Shi'ite ceremony overshadowed by an uprising by supporters of a radical cleric and fears of attacks by Sunni militants.

Shi'ites chant outside the shrine of Imam Hussein in Kerbala April 10, 2004 as they celebrate the Arbain festival, a religious occasion that climaxes this weekend to mark the end of the period of mourning for a 7th-century martyred Shi'ite saint. Many pilgrims, including many from Shi'ite-ruled Iran, seemed to have stayed away this year due to fighting in the past week, involving Sadr's Shi'ite forces as well as disgruntled Sunnis who have long fought the U.S.-led forces. [Reuters]

The Arbain ceremony falls 40 days after the Shi'ite holy day of Ashura -- when suicide bomb attacks on Shi'ites in Baghdad and Kerbala killed 171 people. Over the past week, fighters loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have battled US-led forces in Iraq, worsening fears of bloodshed during Arbain.

The peak of the Arbain pilgrimage -- prayers before dawn -- passed peacefully. But after daybreak the streets were still crowded with Shi'ites, some of whom had walked for days from across Iraq to visit the Kerbala shrine.

The ceremonies commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, more than 13 centuries ago. The fall of Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-dominated regime ended decades of oppression for the 60-percent Shi'ite majority and left them free to observe Ashura and Arbain.

"I have been walking to Kerbala for the last week," said Khaled Mujtaba, a student who came on foot from Basra more than 300 miles away. "Every time I feel my legs won't take me further I remind myself of the suffering of the Imam, to get strength and continue."

Sadr's militiamen have battled Polish and Bulgarian troops around Kerbala in several skirmishes over the past week. The clashes have killed 69 people and wounded more than 100, Mahdi Masnawi, Kerbala director-general of health, told Reuters.

But on the eve of Arbain, officials from other Shi'ite groups said they had reached agreement with Sadr to halt all fighting during the ceremonies.

Inside the city, there were processions to the shrine of Imam Hussein, with men carrying mock tents and leading women in chains to reenact the Shi'ite tragedy of the death of Hussein. Men and women wept and flagellated themselves.

The U.S.-led administration in Iraq said more than a million pilgrims had headed to Kerbala for Arbain. But fewer than expected made the journey.

"All our family wanted to come but at the last minute the women and children had to turn back because of the fighting," said Hussein Radhi, a pilgrim from Baghdad.

FEW SIGNS OF SUPPORT FOR SADR

Few pilgrims chanted slogans in support of Sadr and his uprising -- the young cleric draws his main support from slums on the fringe of Baghdad and is less popular in Kerbala.

In one street, where most windows were shattered and walls pockmarked with bullet holes after fighting with Polish troops, locals shoved away a man chanting his support for Sadr.

"Go away from here, we have women and children," said one of the locals. "If you want to fight them, go fight them in your neighborhood, don't fight in our city."

Iraq's U.S. governor, Paul Bremer, has said the safety of pilgrims cannot be guaranteed during Arbain. Washington says it suspects last month's bloody Ashura attacks were masterminded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian accused of links to al Qaeda, to try to spark a sectarian war in Iraq.

An audio recording on an Islamist Internet site this week, attributed to Zarqawi, urged Sunni militants in Iraq to attack U.S. forces and Shi'ite "collaborators."

Iraqi police, whom U.S.-led forces had previously entrusted with keeping order during Arbain, were nowhere to be seen in Kerbala following this week's clashes.

Streets were being patrolled by Shi'ite militias as well as local guards, some employed by the clerical authorities.

Some clerical authorities voiced disquiet. "Because of the clashes the police have disappeared, leaving a big gap in our security plan," said Afdhal al-Shami, head of security for Kerbala's Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines. "We are worried that someone will try to exploit this security breach."

Some pilgrims criticized both the U.S.-led occupation force and Sadr's militia for the chaos in Iraq.

"Coalition forces have ignited this whole crisis on purpose," said Hamid Ha'eri an Iraqi returning from Iran.

"But those who are fighting on these holy days are not Shi'ite. They are fighting for their own political interests."

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