British soldiers back in Basra as hundreds of Iraqi troops desert

British troops have returned to Basra, in a major change of policy, six months after withdrawing from the city because their presence was said to be provoking violence from the militias. Around 150 UK military personnel with Mastiff and Warrior armored vehicles have been deployed in recent days alongside Iraqi government forces in the aftermath of fierce fighting against the Mahdi Army. The UK Ministry of Defense described the move as "a logical extension of our training role that will provide additional mentoring and monitoring to the Iraqi army." However, British troops have until now been kept strictly outside the city limits, with officials saying that stepping back into the quagmire of Basra would set back the exit strategy from Iraq. The US has been pressing for UK forces, who are now stationed at the airport, to be more actively involved in operations in the city. The British return to Basra comes days after the British government announced that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's pledge to reduce troop levels by 1,500 this spring could not be fulfilled because of security concerns. The development comes alongside the disclosure that up to 1,500 Iraqi soldiers refused to fight, or deserted in the operation against the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Shia militia. The numbers, according to Iraqi and US sources, included dozens of officers and at least two senior field commanders. Iraqi officials said that Colonel Rahim Jabbar and Lieutenant Colonel Shakir Khalaf, a brigade commander and his deputy, have been suspended for declining to fight. In addition to those who refused to follow orders, about 100 members of the Iraqi security forces simply changed sides, to the Mahdi Army. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has faced strong criticism over the operation, which he had led after flying from Baghdad to Basra and which ended, critics say, in a stalemate with an Iranian-brokered peace deal. The Independent revealed how Maliki countermanded the plans of Lieutenant General Mohan al-Furayji, the Iraqi commander in charge of the south, who had wanted to wait until June to carry out the operation after a build-up of resources, economic projects on the ground and an offer of amnesty to the Shia fighters. Gen. Mohan had planned to target all militias rather than just the Mahdi Army. The offensive which took place concentrated, instead, on al-Sadr's forces while the Badr Brigade, which has links to Maliki's government, and the Fadilla group of Basra governor Mohammed Waeli were not targeted. UK assistance to Iraqi forces so far has consisted of providing logistical support as well as artillery fire, from outside the city, on militia positions. US and British sources say that while some parts of Basra that had become "no-go" areas had been reclaimed by Iraqi troops, the Mahdi Army remains a potent military force. Some Shia soldiers and policemen who refused to take part in the mission against the Mahdi Army said they could not fight fellow Shias, while others feared that their families would be targeted if they took part. One officer, a lieutenant from Sadr City, said: "What they were asking us to do was to fire on our friends, members of our family. A lot of men were unhappy, we felt there should have been talks before the attack began."