Arab media highlight Najaf suffering

By Sebastian Usher
BBC world media correspondent

Arab media have been giving extensive coverage to the fighting in Najaf from the viewpoint of those inside the city.

Moqtada Sadr's spokesmen have had plenty of airtime

Correspondents from the main Arab satellite channels have been reporting from Najaf and the stations have carried live interviews from spokesmen for Moqtada Sadr.

However, little coverage has been given to the American view of the fighting.

The two most watched Arab satellite news channels, al- Jazeera and al-Arabiya, have been leading with the fighting in Najaf. Both have shown vivid footage of the violence.

Al-Arabiya's correspondent in Najaf talked of the city being under siege and semi-deserted, with all roads closed and no-one allowed to enter or leave.

As well as its coverage of the fighting, al-Jazeera broadcast an interview with one of Mr Sadr's representatives in Baghdad.

The spokesman, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, put the blame for the outbreak of fighting on the Americans and the Iraqi authorities.

"It seems that this military escalation by the US forces has been studied and well planned," he said. "It is intended to storm the holy city of Najaf.

"We did not wish for this escalation. The US forces and the governor of Najaf are wholly responsible for it."

As on the first day of the fighting, al-Jazeera left the impact of what the Shia leader's supporters said unchallenged by any comment from the US military or Iraqi government.

The station's correspondent in Najaf also put the blame for the fighting on the Americans, saying they had broken the ceasefire by resuming patrols in the city.

Casualties

The effect of the fighting on civilians in Najaf has been highlighted in coverage by Arab TV.

One station, Lebanon's Hezbollah-backed al-Manar - which is now watched across the Arab world - showed people in Najaf describing how they had been caught up in the violence.

One spoke about his family: "A group from our family were going on an errand. When they came back, there was shelling and another car hit them... One man died."

Another - a school guard - told how the fighting had come to his workplace: "A shell fell at the entrance to the guard room. There are no Mehdi Army elements in our area. What brought the war to us?"

The fighting in Najaf has been portrayed on Arab satellite stations as another conflict in Iraq in which ordinary Iraqis are the victims.

The blame is not directly ascribed to any side, but the inference is once again of American insensitivity to the wishes and well-being of the Iraqi people.

That is a message that may well play to Mr Sadr's advantage, both in Iraq and in the wider Arab world.