Militia weapons handover in Baghdad starts on shaky ground

BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AFP) - Dealers muscled in on the first day of a weapons handover in Baghdad by Shiite militiamen to Iraqi authorities on Monday, in a disarmament operation built on shaky ground rather than a major breakthrough.
A white Chevrolet backs into the entrance of Al-Habibiya police station in the Sadr City district and the trunk flips open to reveal a cache of about two dozen rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and another dozen shells.
Hussein Hashim, wearing a blue baseball cap and black wrap-around shades, begins to hand them over, one by one, to police officers standing by.
"Did you count them? They are 22," says Hashim.
"Yes, do you have more?" asks Lieutenant Colonel Saadun.
Saadun tells Hashim and two other companions that they have not received the cash yet to pay them for the stash and that they can either wait or take a receipt now and come back later to collect the money.
The Habibiya station along with two others in this teeming Baghdad slum of 2.5 million geared up from 8:00 am (0500 GMT) to receive heavy and medium-sized weapons from militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
It is part of a ceasefire initiative his representatives announced Saturday in return for an amnesty and release of the movement's prisoners. But the terms have yet to be confirmed.
Entire roads were blocked by police, while paramilitary national guard units stood at key intersections. A US military commander shuttled with his men in armoured Humvees between the three stations to observe the process.
It was intermediaries, not bearded militiamen, who handed over the bulk of weapons.
"You see, our bosses sold weapons to the Mehdi Army in the first place," says Hashim, seemingly proud that he is part of the whole scheme.
"Now we bought them back from them and we will sell them to whoever pays the highest price, and we heard the government is paying good dollars."
An RPG launcher was fetching 170 dollars, while a sniper rifle was going for 640 dollars, according to a list drawn up by a committee of the interior and defence ministries and the local city council.
They have been charged with overseeing the whole process, which is expected to last until Friday.
Hashim says most of the weapons that were handed in were Russian-made and belonged to the once-mighty army of ousted president Saddam Hussein.
"If this whole ceasefire falls through, we will be ready to rearm the Mehdi Army," he says, before he is called over by one his companions to unload another stash of mortar launchers and rockets.
And if early signs are any indication, the so-called ceasefire and disarmament initiative appears to be fraught with mistrust and misunderstanding on both sides.
The mechanics of the deal were verbally thrashed out at a meeting Saturday between two Sadr loyalists, Iraq's National Security Advisor Kassem Daoud and the US military's Colonel Abe Abrams.
The aim is to restore security and begin reconstruction in Sadr City, which has been the scene of recurring violence and fighting since Sadr launched his revolt against the US occupation in April.
Sadr leaders said Sunday at their base in Sadr City's Al-Hikma mosque that they expected nothing less than an immediate end to raids and arrests by US troops in the area.
They also demand the release of all their prisoners held in US-run detention centres, estimating their number at 500.
Although both the Iraqi government and the US military have endorsed the initiative, they have taken a wait-and-see approach given so many false starts in the past, insisting they retain the right to conduct raids.
"There is no agreement, there is no ceasefire," says the US battalion commander for Sadr City, Lieutenant Colonel Gary Volesky, in front of the Al-Jazayer police station, another drop-off centre.
"The leadership (Sadr) has to get out and say that the militia has no role, and that has not been met yet," he said.
Back at Habibiya, an Iraqi national guard officer shares Volesky's reticence about the deal.
"I do not trust these people," says Captain Abdul Rahman, a former Republican Guardsmen under Saddam. "Our country is ruined!"
He suddenly stops as his commander pulls in.
"I am optimistic, it is working, people will be able to live in peace again," insists Colonel Mehdi Zayer amid the clatter of cameras.