Date:21/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/21/stories/2003042104790100.htm

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Shia marches worry U.S. forces in Iraq

BAGHDAD APRIL 20. American forces in Iraq are facing a major test with Najaf and Karbala preparing to host up to two million Shia Muslims from Iraq, Iran and other countries for the annual pilgrimage, a holy tradition long repressed by the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim regime. A leading Shia cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, has suggested that the marchers express their rejection of the U.S. military presence.

Thousands have set off from Baghdad and elsewhere, marching to the southern holy cities under black banners of mourning for Imam Hussein, the martyred grandson of Prophet Mohammad and one of the sect's most revered saints.

U.S. troops said they would keep a respectful distance as long as the march of three to four days did not turn against them.

Meanwhile, Baghdad's self-proclaimed mayor today announced plans to revive the capital's local administration, while another prominent former dissident promised a role for Islamic parties in the future Iraqi government.

Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi, a longtime exile who earlier proclaimed himself in charge of Baghdad, said that 22 committees had been formed to administer the city, and people had been appointed to lead them.

More than a week after Mr. Hussein's regime collapsed, U.S. officials and Iraqi leaders were racing to set up local administrations to fill the void, trying to restore order as well as basic services such as water and power.

Life is returning to normal in the south. In Basra, local residents working with British forces have managed to restore water, electricity and the local phone system.

In Umm Qasr, a new town council has appointed judges, police, even garbage collectors. The rail line between the two cities was reopened on Saturday.