British Envoys Under Siege in Basra

The British diplomatic mission in Basra has been under siege for three weeks, suffering almost daily mortar attacks as security in the southern Iraq city has deteriorated dramatically.

The only way in or out of the mission is by military helicopter and the British Army now moves around Basra only in armoured vehicles.

Since the start of the uprising in the holy city of Najaf earlier this month there has been a "lockdown" at the Office of the British Embassy in Basra, an extension of the Baghdad embassy, as militiamen loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have taken control of large areas of the city.

The building is a former Saddam Hussein palace on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

The 50 members of staff are protected by 60 former Gurkhas and a company of soldiers. A further detachment of troops from the Black Watch also guards the area, sealed off by 12ft-high concrete walls, with more than a dozen Warrior armoured fighting vehicles.

The roofs of containers, converted to accommodation, are protected by sand bags and blast walls.

At night everyone must wear body armour and, after two separate attacks yesterday, when four mortar rounds landed close to the perimeter, staff were forbidden to venture outside.

Two British military bases in the north of the city were also attacked and another rocketed yesterday.

During a flight into the embassy compound, a Chinook helicopter deployed a series of anti-missile flares in defence against surface to air missiles as it skimmed at 60ft across a highway on the outskirts of Basra.

After the aircraft touched down, it was rapidly emptied of its troops and equipment.

The Mahdi army rebels have severely dented British plans for the desperately needed reconstruction of the city. Bands of insurgents carrying rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns roam the streets freely, setting up illegal check-points and imposing curfews.

The poorly armed nascent police force has little control in the city and focuses on protecting its stations.

The chief of police has allegedly been seen entering the office of Sadr's representative on several occasions.

Commander Kevin Hurley, a City of London policeman training Iraqis, said: "It's a question of battening down the hatches and securing the police stations. They just don't have the armoured vehicles and heavy weaponry to take on the militia."

Further pressure was put on the security forces after 180 prisoners, including many members of the Mahdi army, escaped from a prison in Amarah, a town north of Basra, during a mass breakout five days ago.

The justice system is in danger of collapsing in the city with defendants coming to court armed with rifles and grenade launchers and threatening to kill judges. Written and signed death threats have been delivered.

"Judges are understandably concerned about their safety," said Pauline Popp-Madsen, a justice adviser from Denmark.

"And, if we lose the judiciary, then basically we are finished.

"It's very depressing because we don't want an intimidated judiciary." As the siege continues, medical supplies, water pipes, cement and electrical cabling that are vital to Basra's reconstruction are piling up on the Kuwaiti border.

Stocks of medicine were so low at the weekend that a military convoy had to be escorted by British armour to deliver £13,000 of aid to Basra hospital.

The whisky has run out in the British office but there is enough food for almost three weeks and an atmosphere of stoicism prevails.

"The rations are low but the mood is high," said Paul Briddle, a prison governor training the Iraqis.

Thomas Harding in Basra
(Filed: 27/08/2004)