Inside Sadr City - Iraq

May 2003
Sadr City in Northern Baghdad is now governed by Shi'ite clerics. It has become a virtual 'no-go' area for US troops.

In the back room of a Mosque in Baghdad, six members of the Fedayeen are being held prisoner. They have been severely beaten and are clearly frightened. But their captors are not coalition forces or policemen. They're being detained by the local Shi'ite cleric -- Sheik Saeed. "Those Fedayeen who killed will be killed and those who didn't will be held to account," he proclaims. Saeed's supporters govern everything in Sadr City from the traffic flow to the hospitals and clinics. They were even able to persuade looters to return stolen goods. Now American troops no longer bother patrolling this area, preferring to concentrate on the middle class suburbs that house most of Saddam's former supporters. Baghdad has effectively been split into two cities. However, control of Sadr City may not be enough and the Shi'ites are already impatient for American withdrawal. "If the American army becomes an occupier, it will face real Iraqi fighting," predicts Saeed: "I'll wire myself and my children with explosives and blow up American forces if they don't leave."

Produced by SBS/Dateline
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• North
• Baghdad
• Shi'ite
• Conflict
• Religion
• Sheik
• Saeed
• Sadr
• City
• Freedom
• news
• documentary
• current affairs
• journeyman
• journeyman pictures

[clanfenix04]

american nazis, get out of the world.

[Fjnunez]

american pigs! get out of iraq

[RazziNDarkside]

were those subtitles accurate?"im willing to strap up my children with explosives if the americans don't leave".

[hayder445]

thats not Alsadr City ... i used to live in this City .. it called Almansor !

i miss is so much :((

[MrJiddukrishhesse]

i pray to god as a human being and an indian that iraq should be what it actually was the cradle of civilization and a land of peace,serenity and harmony!!

[jd10018]

IT IS INTERESTING HOW THE INVADING ARABS WHICH THINK BOMBING THE ENEMY IS AND KILLING THE ENEMY IN THE VILLAGE SQUARE BY HANGING IS OK.

PERSIA HAD NO ARABS AND A SYSTEM OF LAWS WHERE HUMAN RIGHTS WERE RECOGNIZED BY THE RULE OF LAW. OVER 1400 YEARS THE HAVE ALMOST ERADICATED ALL THE OTHER RELIGIONS INCLUDING CHRISTIANITY, JUDAISM, ZOROASTRIANISM, BUDDHISM, CHRISTIANITY AND OTHERS.

ISLAM HAS BOMBED THOUSANDS OF HOUSES OF WORSHIP AND CONTINUES TO KILL PEOPLE FREELY IN IRAN.

FREE PERSIA!

[txelpaso20]

07:27 this guy that he speaks bull shit English says that Saddam was a good leader.This guy is an ass kisser

[pulakification]

maybe if they got the resturant, their first target, it would have killed more families.

[patsyd80]

knew things was bad in bagdad but 14 people living in a gaping hole in the ground?

[ansaralshee3a]

they wanted to bomb a resturant but they missed and got house.....terrorism wither it was house or resturant

[IRAQIMAN01]

My prayers go out to all, I pray Iraq will become a nation of peace and freedom.