The commander of British forces in the Gulf has confirmed that an uprising against the rule of President Saddam Hussein appeared to be under way in the southeastern Iraqi city of Basra.
Major General Peter Wall, speaking at the allied command centre in Qatar said the rebellion seemed to be in its "infancy" but that British troops trying to secure the city were "keen to exploit its potential."
Major General Wall also said Iraqi soldiers who had fled the battlefield were being forced to return to fight after "significant threats against their families."
"This is just the sort of encouraging indication we have been looking for," he told reporters.
"But just to avoid any excessive optimism at this stage I should say we don't have an absolutely clear indication of the scale or scope of this uprising, what has engendered it or where it is going to take us."
One British officer in Basra said Iraqi troops opened fire to put down the revolt.
But Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahhaf denied that a rebellion was under way, speaking on Al-Jazeera television.
"These are lies issued by the US administration and British government ... with the aim of demoralising" the Iraqi population, he said.
British forces have been attempting to secure control of the city, which they want to use to establish a corridor to deliver humanitarian aid to the rest of the country.
AFP