Shi'ite factions proclaim truce in Iraq's Basra

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - The Shi'ite factions that have feuded over control of Iraq's southern oil hub Basra have proclaimed a truce, but the challenge will come soon when Britain hands responsibility for the province to Iraqi forces.

The handover of security in Basra, expected next week, will be the biggest test yet of the Iraqi government's ability to maintain order without relying on U.S. or British soldiers.

U.S. and British forces have already handed eight of Iraq's 18 provinces over to Iraqi control. But Basra, with Iraq's second-largest city, only port and oil exports providing most of the government's revenue, is a challenge of a different scale.

By the middle of next year, Britain, which patrolled the province since 2003, will have just a token force of 2,500 troops, confined to an airbase outside Basra city.

Iraqi authorities say they have the firepower for the job.

"Our forces in Basra have tanks, armoured vehicles and planes. We are backed directly by the interior minister and the prime minister," Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Firaiji, head of Basra's security operations, told Reuters in an interview.

He said leaders of the city's main rival armed Shi'ite factions met in a mosque last week and signed a pact to cooperate with security forces and not carry guns.

Washington and London say responsibility for averting a meltdown now rests firmly with the Iraqis.