Google AP - BAGHDAD, Iraq - Spreading sectarian bloodshed and the virtual takeover by Shiite militiamen of a major southern Iraqi city this week are lending new urgency to calls for disbanding militias.
But the political power and deep community roots of some armed groups - principally the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - make that a difficult task.
The militias are linked to powerful political parties - some of which are coalition partners of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki - and the armed groups are considered by many Shiites in hotly contested areas to be more reliable than the police and army in protecting civilians.
Many Shiites believe that the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias are their only defense against attacks by Sunni insurgents and militants of al-Qaida in Iraq, whose members include Arab and other foreign Muslim fighters.
Mahdi militiamen went on a rampage last week in the central Iraqi city of Balad, killing dozens of Sunni Arabs, torching their businesses and forcing hundreds to flee their homes in retaliation for the beheading of 17 Shiite workers.
According to Sunni residents, the killing in Balad occurred after dozens of suspected Mahdi Army militiamen poured in from Baghdad in pickup trucks similar to those used by Interior Ministry commandos. The Interior Ministry, which is Shiite-controlled, denied any militia involvement.
On Thursday, the Mahdi Army seized several police stations in Amarah, 200 miles southeast of the capital, and clamped a curfew on the city after the brother of their local leader was kidnapped in retaliation for the killing of a police intelligence officer. The officer's family blame Mahdi Army militiamen for the killing.
Nine people were killed and 59 wounded in fighting between the militiamen and the city's police, officials said.
While the slaughter was under way in Balad Sunday, al-Maliki was promising in a nationwide broadcast to crack down on militias.
Al-Maliki's two predecessors - Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Ayad Allawi - made similar promises over the last two years but were unable to follow through - in part because of the militias' political power.
Al-Maliki, a former Shiite activist, won the top government post last spring thanks in part to the support of al-Sadr, who controls 30 of the 275 seats in the national parliament and five Cabinet posts.
In a sign of al-Sadr's influence, al-Maliki this week ordered the release of one of the young cleric's top lieutenants, Sheik Mazen al-Sa'edi, who was arrested by U.S. troops in Baghdad for alleged links to sectarian death squads. He visited al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf Wednesday, the day al-Sa'edi was freed.
"The prime minister is working at a much higher level," U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said in explaining al-Maliki's order. "He is working on a national level dealing with strategic issues."
Mahdi Army militiamen have long enjoyed a free rein in Amarah, the provincial capital of the southern province of Maysan. Militiamen in Amarah often summon local government officials for meetings at their offices. They roam the city with their weapons, manipulate the local police and set up checkpoints at will.
Since British troops left Amarah in August, residents say the militia has been involved in a series of killings, including slayings of merchants suspected of selling alcohol and women alleged to have engaged in behavior deemed immoral by militiamen.
In Baghdad's mainly Shiite Sadr City district, the Mahdi Army runs courts that rule on family and property disputes and organize vigilante groups to guard against attacks by Sunni militants. They also run checkpoints to prevent suicide bombings and keep track of outsiders.
In August, al-Maliki took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the U.S. military for a raid targeting Mahdi Army leaders in Sadr City, a Mahdi Army stronghold.
The perception that only the militias can guarantee safety was reinforced after the Feb. 22 bombing of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra. Mahdi militiamen went on a rampage to avenge the bombing, killing Sunnis and attacking their mosques and homes with impunity.
The rampage triggered reprisal attacks by Sunni militants against Shiites in a deadly cycle that continues to gain steam. Much of the sectarian violence is in Baghdad, a city of 6 million people where Shiites and Sunnis are the dominant sects.
The U.S. military acknowledged Thursday that its two-month drive to crush insurgent and militia violence in the Iraqi capital had fallen short, saying attacks in Baghdad rose by 22 percent in the first three weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when compared to the three previous weeks. Baghdad has been in.