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Iraqi govt. denies leading Sadrists' access to Basra
(KUNA) -- The Iraqi security authorities have barred key aides of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr from entering the southern city of Basa on Friday. "The move takes place a few hours after Al-Sadr's call for halting the bloodshed in Iraq," deputy chief of the political department of the Sadrist Trend Abu-Shuja' Al-Khafaji told KUNA here.In a statement read at Friday sermons here Al-Sadr reiterated his appeal for militiamen of his Al-Mehdi Army to continue observing the shaky ceasefire, freezing armed activity and refraining from attacking government forces. "In synchronization with the call, the Sadrist Trend formed a political delegation including members of parliament and Hauza (Shiite religious establishment)," Al-Khafaji pointed out. "The delegation consisting of Hazem Al-A'raji, Mozhaffar Al-Battat, Suhail Al-Aqabi, a number of MPs and me was tasked to visit Al-Basra to assess the situation on the ground and restore calm there." "However, the Iraqi security authorities denied the delegation access to the city under unjustifiable pretexts," Al-Khafaji regretted. The delegation kept waiting for three hours and contacted a number of political leaders including President Jalal Al-Talabani and Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bulani but to no avail," he pointed out. "The delegation was forced to return to Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf city after its aborted mission," he added. Posted by: Fred 2008-04-26 |
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