Iraq govt alarmed at Basra tension, plans mission

BAGHDAD, May 29 (Reuters) Factional struggles among ruling Shi'ites could flare into warfare over Iraq's vital southern oilfields, officials said today as the new, Shi'ite-led government prepared to send a top-level peace mission to Basra.

''The situation in Basra is worrying. It is getting increasingly tense,'' a senior government official in Baghdad told Reuters today, two days after President Jalal Talabani raised the alarm and urged government action to ease friction.

''It could turn to an open armed conflict between Shi'ite groups if it is not resolved,'' the official added.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki himself could head a delegation to Iraq's second city this week, officials said. Last week, one small faction warned it could halt oil exports from Basra if it did not win concessions from the Baghdad government.

Security has deteriorated sharply in Basra over the past year as rival factions from the Shi'ite majority tussle for a share of the power handed to their branch of Islam by the U.S.

overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated administration.

Basra, whose oil accounts for virtually all of Iraq's state revenues, is a major prize for all parties.

Two British soldiers were killed there on Monday. British officials have urged the Baghdad government to act.

Its forces are caught in the middle of the faction fighting and also face hostility from across the nearby border in Iran.

Accusing each other of corruption and organised crime, the opposing sides control militias, some of them associated with the police and other security forces, although local officials publicly insisted this week that calm has returned.

FIRE WARNING In Baghdad, political leaders are sceptical of that.

''The problems are a mixture of many things and include tribal and social complications that affect politics,'' said member of parliament Bahaa al-Araji, a leading figure in the political movement of fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

''There is also Iranian interference and the occupation presence to take account of,'' Araji said.

Sadr's movement and his Mehdi Army militia are among the key players in the Shi'ite-dominated city.

''If it is not solved the spark could turn to fire. It all depends on how the government will deal with it,'' Araji said.

''There is no solution yet. If it is not solved it may escalate.'' Talabani, a Kurd, issued a statement urging Maliki to despatch senior officials to Basra to calm the situation. He said it should have wide-ranging powers, including being ''authorised to dismiss and appoint'' officials.

Maliki hopes himself to head a delegation representing all Shi'ite factions to Basra, officials said. A Sunni group will also take part. Sunni politicians and religious groups have reacted with alarm to killings of Sunni clerics around the city.

Other Shi'ite officials said the government was very aware of the problem and was trying to solve it as soon as possible to prevent it spreading to Baghdad.

They said the entire Shi'ite Alliance bloc risked major problems if the Basra factional fighting got out of control.

''It is a political struggle but the factions have begun dialogue in order to end it,'' said Rida Jawad al-Takki, a senior member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

SCIRI and its armed Badr wing are major players in Basra, along with the governor's Fadhila party. A source close to Fadhila warned last week it could halt oil exports.

Takki said Basra had been calmer in recent days and said Maliki and other officials would aim to dispel tension for good.

''We hope they will be successful for our sake,'' he said.

REUTERS CH HS2119