By KUNA
Baghdad : Armed clashes broke out anew on Tuesday between government forces and militiamen in the southern city of Basra but the violence remained resitricted to certain districts, according to witnesses.
The clashes are raging in several sectors of the city, the southern towns of Al-Nasiriah and Al-Shatra between the Iraqi Army troops and gunmen of the radical cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr, they said.
But in several regions of Basra, civilians were seen venturing out of houses and opening stores, with traffic flowing on roads, despite recurring echoes of gunfire blasts from the hot spots.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki ordered the governemnt forces to “deal firmly” with any illegal armed manifestations but banned search of houses and properties without judicial warrants.
The witnesses said the regular troops were seen searching several houses and buildings in the city, where tension remained high after the violence largely subsided.