British-appointed Basra chief exposed as former Ba'athist
Troops protect sheikh after mob attack
Steven Morris and Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday April 12, 2003 The Guardian
Violence broke out in Basra after a sheikh asked by British commanders to become the new leader of the province was revealed to be a former brigadier-general in Saddam Hussein's army and a one-time member of the Ba'ath party. Several hundred protesters hurled stones at the house of Sheikh Muzahim Mustafa Kanan Tamimi as he met other local dignitaries to discuss how to restore order.
The crowd accused Mr Tamimi and his tribe of collaborating with Saddam. The sheikh's supporters armed themselves and accused the protesters, members of a rival clan, of being Ba'ath party sympathisers themselves. Eventually the protesters were dispersed by British troops.
The scene illustrated the difficulties for the coalition in finding leaders acceptable to all Iraqis. Asked yesterday why Mr Tamimi was chosen, the armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, said: "We have to work with people on the ground."
It was a "fraught situation", he added, which meant British forces might have to deal with "compromised and tainted" Iraqis. "These are not easy issues," he said.
British commanders revealed earlier this week that they had met the sheikh - at the time not identified - who had offered to help restore stability in Basra, which has been beset by violent looting.
During the meeting, which the Guardian has learned was set up by British intelligence, Mr Tamimi was asked to set up a committee of local people to run the region.
An army spokesman, Chris Vernon, described him as "worthwhile, credible" and with "authority in the area".
On Thursday Mr Tamimi went public when he and 30 local leaders held their first council meeting at the home of a timber merchant.
The council named new heads of the police and civil defence department, and ordered the police to return to work by yesterday to help stop the looting.
Mr Tamimi, 50, would not discuss his past in detail with reporters. But he confirmed that he had been a general in the Iraqi army and at one time was in the Ba'ath party.