Politics

Flashpoint: Najaf, surrender or die

Surrender or die, al-Sadr rebels told
Toronto Star
NAJAF -- Iraq—Government security forces tightened their grip around a key shrine in Najaf after the government warned Shiite rebels inside they must surrender or die. Around 500 Iraqi forces moved to within 200 metres of the revered Imam Ali Shrine last night, the first time government forces had entered the battle zone. With fighting raging, U.S. tanks reinforced positions along the southern flank of the mosque. After nightfall, a U.S. AC-130 gunship joined an attack on militant positions. Defence Minister Hazim al-Shalaan said the Mahdi Army fighters loyal to al-Sadr faced death unless they ended their rebellion, which has sparked fighting that has killed hundreds, driven oil prices to record highs and sparked clashes in several other Iraqi towns and cities. "We are in the last hours. This evening, Iraqi forces will reach the doors of the shrine and control it and appeal to the Mahdi Army to throw down their weapons," he told reporters. "If they do not, we will wipe them out."

US Tanks Metres From Shrine
NEWS.com.au, Australia
US tanks and other military vehicles had moved to within 20m of the gates of the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where Shiite militiamen are holed up, early today after continuous overnight mortar and tank fire. The closest US vehicle stopped just 20m from the gate of the mosque compound, one of the most revered Shiite Muslim shrines in the world, about 7:30 am (1230 AEST), the correspondent inside the shrine said. Makeshift barricades set up to protect the entrance to the compound were torched, as flames licked upwards into the early morning sky.

Surprise Visit to Iran by Iraq Vice President
Agence France-Presses
TEHRAN -- Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari made a surprise visit to Iran on Tuesday to meet officials of the Islamic republic, state television announced. Jafari held talks with President Mohammad Khatami during his impromptu visit, which had not been announced by either side, the TV said, showing pictures of Jafari in the northeastern Shiite holy city of Mashhad. The visit came at a time when both sides are trying to mend fences after a certain tension in the past two weeks.

Call for Iraqis to march to Najaf
ITV.com, UK
Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, is calling for all Iraqis to march on the holy city of Najaf, under siege from US and Iraqi forces. He has been recovering after a heart operation in London but is reported to have re-entered Iraq via Kuwait and is now heading for Najaf. An aide, Hamed al-Khafaf, is reported as saying: "Najaf is burning. Ayatollah al-Sistani is on his way back and calls on Iraqis from all provinces to join him in the holy city. The absence of the Ayatollah has contributed led to the crisis, with militants loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr using the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf as their base.

Pakistan Senate condemns Najaf attack
Pakistan Dawn, Pakistan
ISLAMABAD -- The Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning the attack on the holy city of Najaf by US forces and called upon them to restrain their action on holy shrines throughout Iraq. "The Senate of Pakistan condemns the action of the occupying forces in Najaf Ashraf and calls upon them to restrain their action on holy shrines," said the resolution read out by leader of the Democratic Alliance Raza Rabbani at the conclusion of a debate on "the current situation in Iraq and its implications for peace in the region."

Senior Muslim figures back Iraqi insurgents
Iraq Occupation Watch
Ninety-three prominent Muslim figures opposed to US troops in Iraq have called on Muslims around the world to support resistance to US forces and to the Iraqi government installed in June. In the appeal received on Sunday from the offices of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim figures from nearly 30 nations, from Germany to Indonesia, said the aim should be to "purify the land of Islam from the filth of occupation".

US Warplanes Violate Iran's Air Space
Persian Journal, Iran
Five US warplanes entered Iran's air space last Thursday night from the southwestern Shalamcheh border and flew over the city of Khorramshahr for a while, press reports said Tuesday. According the Persian daily Seday-e Edalat, 'the jet fighters which flew at high speed and altitude, then headed to the Arvand River'. "They flew at a height of 10 kilometers and maneuvered over Khorramshahr for a while," the paper said. "While the objective behind the fighters' violation of the Iranian air space is not known yet, some military specialists believe such moves are aimed at assessing the sensitivity of the Islamic Republic's anti-aircraft defense system," it added.

Posted by Editor at August 25, 2004 06:10 AM