Baghdad slum residents endure street battle hell

Huddled in her house in the Baghdad Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, Salwa Naser recited prayers as gunfire echoed outside.

"My God, my God," the 24-year-old teacher pleaded, "make their fire against us like water."

She is one of 2 million residents of the sprawling district on the eastern edge of Baghdad that in recent weeks has seen some of the worst street battles in the Iraqi capital since U.S. forces drove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003.

Late last month, the government launched a crackdown on the Mehdi Army militia of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the southern city of Basra.

The clashes, in which hundreds of people were killed, quickly spread north to Sadr's stronghold in eastern Baghdad, turning it into a key front in the five-year-old Iraq conflict.

For weeks, masked militiamen loyal to Sadr have roamed the streets, firing on U.S. and Iraqi patrols and sustaining nightly missile strikes from U.S. drone aircraft.

The continuous fighting has turned daily life for many of the slum's residents into a living hell.

"Our suffering starts at night when the Mehdi Army fighters sneak around the narrow streets and we fear air strikes could happen any minute," said Laith Majeed, 22, a university student.

"The innocent people are always the victims. We cannot sleep at night and we're losing patience. These are the worst days I have lived and I don't think life will ever get back to normal."

As if gunfire, mortars and missiles were not enough, Sadr City has been under a vehicle blockade for the past two weeks that has led to shortages of medicine and soaring food prices.

The blockade was partly lifted on Saturday, allowing some Iraqis who had stayed away since late last month to return.

HUNDREDS WOUNDED