2nd instalment.

BASRA UPRISING NUMBER 1



Claims

Tuesday, March 25, 5.30pm

Widespread media reports of a popular uprising against President Saddam Hussein in Iraq's second city of Basra, believed to have originated from military sources. Follows reports from GMTV pool reporter Richard Gaisford.



Challenge

Tuesday, March 25, 6.10pm

British military sources say they are unable to confirm reports of any popular uprising in Basra, but reiterate that they would do everything possible to encourage and support any Iraqis planning to overthrow forces loyal to Saddam."We don't know anything about a popular uprising," said one British military source in Central Command in Qatar.



'Hallucinations'

Tuesday, March 25, 7.44pm

Iraq's information minister denies the reports, calling them "hallucinations". "I want to affirm to you that Basra is continuing to hold steadfast," Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told the Arabic language al-Jazeera television network.



Confirmation

Wednesday, March 26, 2.27am

A British spokesman at US Central Command headquarters in Qatar says it appears there has been an uprising. "We don't have a clear indication of its scale or scope or where it will take us. But we will want to support it to exploit its potential. It looks like this uprising is based on the massive resentment of the population."



Challenge

Wednesday, March, 7.40am

An Al-Jazeera reporter, who is stationed behind coalition lines in Basra, says he has no evidence of an uprising. He says the city is crawling with Iraqi military and the streets are littered with shrapnel.



Claims again

Wednesday, March 26, 12.30pm

British prime minister Tony Blair says he believes there has been a limited uprising overnight. "In relation to what has happened in Basra overnight, truthfully reports are confused, but we believe there was some limited form of uprising," he told the House of Commons.