1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
| 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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 Qusay HusseinSon of Saddam Hussein | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 200 dead[1] | |||||||
The 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq refers to a short period of unrest in Iraq in early 1999 following the killing of Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr by the then Ba'athist government of Iraq.[1]
Background
As his power grew, al-Sadr became more and more involved in politics following the Gulf War and throughout the 1990s he openly defied Saddam. He organized the poor Shi'ites of Sadr City, yet another nickname for the impoverished Shi'ite ghetto in Baghdad, against Saddam and the Baath Party. Sadr gained the support of the Shi'ites by reaching out to tribal villages and offering services to them that they would otherwise not have been afforded by Hussein's regime. Saddam began to crack down on the Shi'ite leaders in the late 1990s in an attempt to regain control of Iraq.
Sometime before his death, al-Sadr was informed of Saddam's limited patience with him. In defiance, al-Sadr wore his death shroud to his final Friday sermon to show that the Shi'ites would not be intimidated by Saddam's oppression and that Sadr would preach the truth even if it meant his own death. He was later killed leaving the mosque in the Iraqi city of Najaf along with two of his sons as they drove through the town. Their car was ambushed by men, and both his sons were killed by gunfire while he was severely injured. He died an hour later in the hospital. Shi'as in Iraq, as well as most international observers, suspect the Iraqi Baathist government of being involved in, if not directly responsible, for their murders.
Uprising
February
Saddam City 18-21
Following the killing of al-Sadr the Iraqi government withheld news of al-Sadr's death for 24 hours as it tried to pressure the family to not hold witnessed a period of unrest and protests. The Iraqi government in this period also executed al-Sadr's deputy, and confiscated his writings and videos of his sermons.[2] Unaware of al-Sadr's death, Shiite worshipers arrived at the Rassoul mosque in Saddam City to pray for al-Sadr's recovery. Iraqi soldiers then arrived and ordered the worshipers to leave. The soldiers later opened fire when the worshipers refused. Following this news spread throughout Saddam City that al-Sadr had been murdered, resulting in mass anti-government demonstrations.[3]
The Iraqi government then sealed off Saddam City and deployed the Republican Guard to put down the growing demonstrations. After 24 hours the demonstrations had been largely suppressed, leaving between 27 and 100 dead.[3]
Unrest spreads 20-21
Officials of the Shiite opposition group, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, began accusing the Iraqi government of responsibility for the death of al-Sadr on 20 February, which they saw as part of a government effort to destroy all Shiite opposition groups.[4]
Although the protests in Saddam City had been put down, new protests began to flare across Shiite majority Southern Iraq, with 20 protesters being killed by security forces on the 21, with another 250 arrested across Iraq. Iraqi forces also shelled Nasiriyah after local protesters attacked a government building.[4]
March
Basra 17-18
Some of the worst violence of the uprising took place on the evening of 17 March in Basra, when large armed groups of members of the Shiite opposition attacked several police stations and offices of the Iraqi Ba'ath party. The opposition groups were even able to seize and occupy several of the police stations and Ba'ath party offices, which they held until the morning of the 18 March, at which point they withdrew. The violence resulted in the deaths of several members of the Fedayeen Saddam, the Ba'ath party, and other security services.[5]
Aftermath
Prosecution
Following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and the toppling of the Ba'athist government the suppression of the events of 1999 were investigated by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal.[6] The ensuing trials saw Ali Hassan al-Majid, then Director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, along with former senior Ba'athist officials Aziz Saleh Hassan al-Noman and Mahmood Faizi Mohammed al-Haza sentenced to death. Seven others received prison sentences ranging from six years to life imprisonment for their role in the suppression of the uprising.[7]
References
- ^ a b Dan Murphy (27 April 2004). "Sadr the agitator: like father, like son". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ^ Report on International Religious Freedom Iraq (1999) Section I. Freedom of Religion
- ^ a b David Blair (17 December 2002). "Attack could be spark for Shia Muslim uprising". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ^ a b http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=64506
- ^ Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iraq: March 1999 Shi'a demonstration in Basra concerning the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq-al-Sadr, 7 August 2002, IRQ39404.E
- ^ "HCC resumes 1999 uprising trial sessions". Aswat al-Iraq. 3 August 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ^ "'Chemical Ali' sentenced to death a third time". CNN. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
