Armed with armored transporters from the former regime’s army and Kalashnikov assault rifles, these new Iraqi soldiers were loudly cheered by hundreds of citizens.

“Down with Saddam” and “These are the Heroes of Freedom” they chanted.

A witness to the apparently spontaneously organized parade told Arab News while fighting back tears: “We have lived under the dictatorship of Saddam for 30 years. Many of us have waited for this day.”

A 21-year-old Iraqi told Arab News: “Of course we are thrilled about this. But Saddam’s army was great and many of them remain in hiding. How long the resistance movement will stay in power is anyone’s guess. We’re all concerned about the internal fighting for control between the various resistance leaders of the different districts.”

According to a well-known Najaf resident, business owner and local leader, who asked that he not be further identified, there are now three different opposition movements vying for control in the city, each under a different leader. He gave an indication of what may lie ahead for Iraq’s disunited people.

According to this source, Nizar Al-Khazraji, a general in Saddam’s Ministry of Defense who defected in the 1990s and has been living in Denmark, is one of them. He is a native of Najaf. He is America’s number one choice. The leader of the second movement is Majid Al-Khoi’i, an Islamic scholar who, after 1991, went to the US after Saddam ordered his death.

The third group leader is Bakr Al-Hakim, who until recently was residing in Iran. He has 25,000 to 30,000 followers, and the US is said to resent his entry into Iraq as he has extremely close ties to Iran. The US has no confidence in him or his group, but as they are pushing for a new democratic system they are reluctant to bar his entry into Najaf, according to the source.

Other towns, such as Al-Amawah, saw a similar show of force yesterday by the same resistance movement troops, but they are under a different regional Iraqi commander. There are also reports that Umm Qasr has also been taken over by resistance forces under the care and protection of the US Special Forces.

Hours after the takeover of Najaf by Nizar Al-Khazraji and the US Special Force soldiers, dozens of Iraqi citizens were taken into custody. There is a great deal of tension in the city and violent confrontation between the three groups rivaling for power, and some of Saddam’s loyalists, is feared.