Abadi outgunned in fight to disarm tribes

BAGHDAD — Videos posted to YouTube of fighting in the city of Basra by proud young men look like scenes from an American action movie. The fighters are seen firing into the sky as they warn each other of shots coming from opposing forces.

Iraq is bursting at the seams with weapons, and tribesmen are both users and fodder. The same situation prevailed under Ottoman rule and in the early days of the monarchy. The Iraqi state curbed the tribes' influence, which experienced a strong resurgence in the years that followed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. When the state collapsed, security forces grew weaker and the new authorities were unable to restrict the use of arms, and the tribes grew to become forces to be reckoned with.