Al-Maliki does not recognize current provincial governor of Basra and has ordered the provincial police and military chiefs not to communicate with him

December 17, 2007 7:48 am henrymunsonjr Basra, Shiite Militiamen in Iraqi Army and Police, Mahdi Army

Amit R. Paley, On the Sidelines in Basra: British Tackle a New Role, WP, December 17, 2007

…interviews with three senior Iraqi security officials in Basra yielded three different sets of data on violence in the province. The provincial police chief said the number of killings, which occurred mainly in Basra city, had decreased from 142 in June to 75 last month, while the military commander in the province said the drop over that time period went from 154 to fewer than 70. Another senior military official said the decline had been less steep, going from 83 in June to 74 in November.

“If you want to know about the security situation, you can’t rely on the figures from officials,” Brig. Gen. Jalil Khalaf, the provincial police chief, said with a laugh. “All the officials have their own interests.”

Khalaf confirmed anecdotal reports from Basra residents that Shiite militias had perpetrated horrendous violence against women, killing dozens of them for wearing pants or not covering their heads in traditional Muslim fashion….

Because of a dispute between parties, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki does not recognize the current provincial governor, Mohammed Mossibh Mohammed Waili, and has appointed the current police and military chiefs as his main representatives here.

The two chiefs said they had been ordered by Maliki not to communicate with Waili, and the British forces planned to formally hand over security to the military commander, Gen. Mohan H. Fahad, instead of the governor

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