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UK hands control of Basra to Iraqi forces Aref Mohammed Britain handed responsibility for security in Basra province to Iraqi forces on Sunday, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of the southern part of Iraq. (Advertisement) The British commander, Major-General Graham Binns, praised the Iraqi security forces and said they were up to the task. Responsibility for Iraq's main oil export hub -- the last of four provinces controlled by Britain since 2003 -- will be the biggest test yet of the Baghdad government's ability to maintain security without troops from the United States or its main ally.
(Article continues below) With Iraq's second-largest city, only major port and nearly all its oil exports, Basra is far more populous, wealthier and more strategically located than any of the other eight of Iraq's 18 provinces previously placed under formal Iraqi control. It has also often been more violent, although Iraqi forces say their 30,000 troops and police in the area can keep peace. Many Basrawis expressed optimism. "Today we are happy security will be handed over from the occupying British forces to Iraqi forces. You can see this happiness on the faces of everyone. It feels like a heavy burden has been lifted off our chests," said teacher Adel Jassem. But others questioned whether Iraqi troops are up to the job: "The handover is a good step, but we hope that Iraqi forces are ready. I don't think they are fully ready and the handover should have been delayed," said merchant Faisal Sharhan, 28. Iraq's second-largest city is a lively place, with restaurants open late and little of the barricaded neighbourhood siege mentality that permeates the capital Baghdad. The mainly Shi'ite southern province has escaped the sectarian warfare that killed tens of thousands of people in central and northern Iraq.
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