Скачать или смотреть WRAP Preparations for handover of Basra province to the Iraqis ADDS more

(16 Dec 2007)
++QUALITY AS INCOMING++
1. Wide of waterfront
2. Various of Iraqi troops at presidential palace (former British headquarters)
3. Various of Iraqi troops at presidential palace
4. Iraqi troops on parade
5. Road block
6. Military convoy, with Iraqi troops
7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Lieutenant Colonel Tahseen (full name not available), Iraqi army:
"We are fully ready to shoulder responsibility to receive the security dossier of our province. With God willing, we are ready to bear that responsibility."
8. Various of street scenes
9. Various of troops searching car
STORYLINE:
An Iraqi army officer said on Sunday Iraqi officials were prepared for Britain's weekend handover of Basra province to Iraqi authorities.
"We are fully ready to shoulder responsibility to receive the security dossier of our province. With God's willing, we are ready to bear that responsibility," Lieutenant Colonel Tahseen told AP Television.
Britain's handover of Basra will have a limited effect on security in Iraq's biggest oil region because rival Shiite warlords and local officials already wield considerable power in the area.
The British have never sought to maintain the same level of control as the Americans did over the provinces the US oversaw after the 2003 invasion.
Since elections in 2005, southern Iraq has been under the domain of religious Shiite parties and their militia allies.
Stability in Basra and southern Iraq is key not only to security, but also to whether the all-important oil industry will grow and attract vital international investment.
The region contains most of Iraq's proven oil reserves. Analysts say that bloody fighting between Shiite factions will be a major disincentive for international investors.
Security problems could also open the door to even greater influence from neighbouring Iran and threaten land routes used by the US to bring ammunition, food and other supplies from Kuwait to American forces in the north.
Last Wednesday's triple car bombing, which killed at least 25 people in Amarah, showed the fragility of security in the southern Iraq.

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