BAGHDAD, April 12: A large number of Iraqis, including police officials, answered on Saturday an urgent US appeal to help restore order and services to the capital after an orgy of looting followed weeks of heavy coalition bombardment.

Baghdadis converged on the Palestine Hotel, where US officials and media are housed, after foreign radio stations broadcast a call for qualified people to come forward.

By Saturday night, a police cruiser carrying three civilian officials was patrolling the streets again for the first time since the government’s collapse.

Captain Mohammed Abdul Karim al Asaidi said he was fufilling his duty to Baghdad’s safety. “It was time to get back to work,” he said. “We’re working for the people, not for a government.” The public mood has been precarious since Baghdad fell on Wednesday, as fear and anger at US troops met the breakdown in security.

Merchant Hassan Farhid summed up sentiments in Baghdad: “If the Americans don’t do anything, we will turn against them.”—AFP