Baghdad's sectarian divide

Click on the image for the large view. This graphic comes from a Times of London story on how the battle lines are evolving in Baghdad.

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Across the Tigris, in western Baghdad, Abu Obeida, an al-Qaeda member, sits in his house in the Sunni district of Amariya. The 33-year-old has the air of one under siege. He talks about preparing to confront al-Mahdi Army and rails against them for murdering innocent civilians. He makes no mention of the car bomb attacks that his group has carried out against the Shia over the past three years.

“What we are trying to do right now is to prevent the expansion of these militias, so we are keeping our forces on the outskirts of our neighbourhoods to prevent them from invading,” Abu Obeida said. “Most important right now is for our groups not to lose our areas.”

More and more, Baghdad is splintering into Shia and Sunni enclaves that are increasingly no-go areas for anyone from outside. The trend is fuelled by the ugliest sectarianism. It also reflects a crude power grab, with both sides egged on by political parties aiming to maximise their clout in the Iraqi Government by dominating as much of the capital as possible. The result is that since February, when Sunnis bombed the golden-domed mosque in Samarra, a Shia shrine, 146,322 individuals have been displaced in Baghdad, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

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There is much more. If you click on the graphic you get a better idea of where the violence is concentrated. This is the battle that al Qaeda wanted, but so far it has been a strategic defeat, because al Qaeda is not strong enough now to take advantage of the strife. Al Qaeda and the other Sunnis do not have the military capacity to change the balance of power in Iraq, so they continue to stir the pots in hopes of inhibiting the Shia's from exerting control over their turf. Now it is very much like a gang war with both sides trying to avoid the authorities.