Basra Ward Leader Assassinated Labor

Basra: Ward Leader Assassinated; Labor Riot against al-Khorafi Construction Co.

The British-appointed leader of one of Basra’s city quarters, an attorney, was assassinated over the weekend. the announcement was made as British PM Tony Blair paid a surprise visit to the city.

The Guardian reports that the CPA has given up on trying to disarm all of Iraq’s militias before withdrawing on July 1, but that British forces in Basra have not been targeted by Shiite militias because the Shiites are playing a waiting game, hoping to take over when the British withdraw.

Ewa Jasiewicz, an independent journalist in Basra, reports on under-reported events in Basra. She mentions a major labor riot against the Kuwaiti al-Khorafi construction company; attacks on British troops, and a major carbombing averted, in the past week.