Safwan, Iraq — The Iraqi teenager pointed to the stains on the chest of his robe. "See," he said. "They shot my brother, and this is his blood."
Few people in Safwan are willing to forgive and forget. As many as a dozen people were killed here at the start of the war, when U.S. and British forces bombarded the town and headed northward toward Basra. The deaths have provided an easy propaganda victory for the Saddam Hussein loyalists, who still hold considerable influence here.
"The British troops are shooting civilians," said Kathem Sajed, a man who heaped praise on Mr. Hussein for "spoiling" the town with a surplus of food rations over the past six months.
"They're killing women and children," he said. "This morning some people were trying to earn their living, and British troops started shooting them."
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His accusation could not be confirmed. The fact that he made it in public, without fear of contradiction — to the general approval of civilians, and only a couple of metres away from a British soldier who was watching — showed that the U.S.-led coalition is failing to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
The mood in southern Iraq is still cautious and tense. Even four days after the capture of Safwan and its nearby oil fields, local farmers are still flying white flags above their battered old cars and trucks, just to make sure they are not the next target of a U.S. or British attack.
The children of Safwan are still excited to see the military convoys rumbling through their desolate border town every day. They wave and leap eagerly, hoping the soldiers will toss them a pack of cigarettes or chewing gum.
Despite the buzz of excitement, though, many of Safwan's people are deeply worried about the lawlessness and the shortages of food that could emerge soon if they don't receive enough humanitarian aid.
"We have no police, no government," said one Iraqi man who refused to give his name. "They ran away at the beginning of the war. We have no security. We don't have any electricity or running water."
At a farm on the outskirts of Safwan, former Iraqi soldier Mohammed Hashem has mixed feelings about the U.S.-led invasion. He is no fan of Saddam Hussein. Most people in southern Iraq hate the dictator, he said. Yet he worries that the U.S. troops could impose their values on his country, jeopardizing its Islamic culture.
He also has a personal reason to be cautious about the invading armies. His father was shot by the coalition forces in the chaos of the early hours when they attacked Safwan last week.
Mr. Hashem was a reservist in the Iraqi army. He says he deserted on the eve of the war.
"Our army is weak and hungry," he said. "Often our meals were just a piece of bread."
Despite those conditions, he expects a fierce battle against the Anglo-American forces by many of Iraq's soldiers, especially by elite forces such as the Republican Guard.
"Saddam Hussein takes care of them, and they understand that when he goes down, they go down," he said. "The soldiers are afraid of the generals, and the generals know that when Saddam falls, they will fall."
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