British forces set to enter city

British forces were waiting for the order today to enter Basra.

They were waiting for the order in support of an apparent uprising by Iraqi civilians against Saddam Hussein's militias.

And there were reports that allied troops had this morning confronted paramilitaries fleeing Iraq's second city.

Deserts Rats of the 7th Armoured Brigade shelled Saddam loyalists yesterday after reports that they had opened fire on civilians with mortars and "horrific" horizontal artillery fire.

The Desert Rats were on standby throughout the night awaiting an order to move in on the city of 1.5 million while commanders assessed the situation.

A successful uprising would be a huge boost for coalition forces which have faced criticism that there is no popular support for the overthrow of Saddam by foreign forces.

Basra is the main centre of Shia-dominated southern Iraq which rose up against Saddam after the 1991 Gulf War, only to be brutally put down by the Iraqi dictator when the Americans failed to provide support.

The Iraqi regime has denied claims of a revolt in Basra.

Arab TV stations today showed pictures of what was said to be a calm city.

To the north, Baghdad came under renewed attack early today, with the Pentagon saying coalition aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US Navy ships had struck Iraq's television station.

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