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=> corresponding Al-Jazeera article

corresponding Al-Jazeera article

Posted by Habibi (Guest) - Thursday, August 19 2004, 17:03:39 (CEST) from - Windows XP - Internet Explorer Website: Website title:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C12B2E-F362-48D1-A39A-98A34B03946E.htm Clashes erupt around Najaf's Imam Ali mosque Thursday 19 August 2004, 17:33 Makka Time, 14:33 GMT US troops have engaged in fierce clashes around the Imam Ali mosque after Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr rejected an ultimatum to withdraw his besieged fighters. Smoke has been rising from the area around the Old City of Najaf as gunfire and explosions reverberated around the district on Thursday. Apache helicopters have been supporting US tanks and marines besieging the Imam Ali mosque complex where al-Sadr's al-Mahdi militiamen have been hold up. US-led troops are reportedly advancing from several directions though details are sketchy owing to a government-imposed news blackout. The Imam Ali mosque site is widely revered, especially Shia believers, and a US-led attack on it risks inflaming Muslim opinion inside Iraq and beyond. Elsewhere in the city, eight people have killed, at least five of them policemen, and dozens wounded when mortar bombs struck the city's police headquarters, officials said. US aircraft have also bombed the Dawha Hotel in Najaf but there were no immediate report of casualties. Ultimatum rejected The upsurge in fighting came within an hour of an announcement by a senior al-Sadr aide rejecting an ultimatum from the interim government for the Shia leader to withdraw his forces from Najaf and disband his militia. The head of al-Sadr's office in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, Aus al-Khafaji, told Aljazeera that the Shia leader had refused to accept a list of tough conditions set out a few hours earlier by Minister of State Kasim Daud. But al-Sadr's spokesman from Najaf, Shaikh Ahmad al-Shaibani, told Aljazeera his movement still sought to finalise a peace agreement with the government. Speaking earlier in Najaf, Daud, announced "final-hour conditions" that he said the Shia leader had to meet and warned that "military action is imminent". Tough conditions Effectively calling for a complete surrender, Daud said al-Sadr would be required to announce in person at a press conference that he would disband the al-Mahdi Army. Al-Sadr would also be required to hand over the militia's weapons held anywhere in Iraq, permanently renounce violence and release all detainees, including Iraqi police, soldiers and national guardsmen, "otherwise the coming hours will be decisive". Iraqi government officials have dismissed as "trickery" calls from al-Sadr for a negotiated settlement, saying their patience has been exhausted. But al-Sadr aides say the Shia leader has already accepted a peace deal brokered by a delegation sent by the Iraqi National Conference earlier in the week, saying that the interim government of Prime Minister Iyyad Allawi was blocking the accord. Controversial offensive "We have been preparing for a military offensive for five days to put an end to this crisis," Daud said. But such an attack on Najaf's Old City – which houses the revered Imam Ali mosque and shrine – remains highly controversial. Recent fighting in the area has inflamed Muslim opinion across the region, especially among Shia believers who view the site as sacred. The presence of US forces in such an offensive on a revered Muslim site is seen as especially inflammatory, prompting the Iraqi government to insist its own troops will lead any attack. US marines and tanks have been positioned within 200 metres of the Imam Ali mosque for several days. A mortar attack on a police station elsewhere in the city on Thursday killed five people and wounded 21 others, police said. Aljazeera --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic: the Peace Plans that aren't parhad - Thursday, August 19 2004, 16:07:02 (CEST) Allawi is acting like a total puppet. Habibi - 08/19 16:41 corresponding Al-Jazeera article Habibi - 08/19 17:03 Re: corresponding Al-Jazeera article parhad - 08/19 17:18

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