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Sadr unhurt, in talks to leave shrine: Iraq govt
Iraq's interim government said Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was negotiating to leave a shrine in Najaf on Friday as thousands of protesters across southern Iraq condemned a US offensive in the holy city. Demonstrators gathered in five cities in Iraq to vent their anger at the assault on Sadr's forces launched by US marines on Thursday, amid conflicting reports over whether the firebrand cleric had been wounded during the fighting. Gunmen also kidnapped a British journalist in the southern city of Basra and threatened to execute him within 24 hours if US forces did not pull out of Najaf. But the gunmen later said they would release Sunday Telegraph reporter James Brandon after Sadr's office intervened. "As a result of mediation by the office of Sayyed Sadr, the British hostage will be released and handed over to Sadr's office in Basra," one of the captors said on a videotape that also showed Brandon.
| "See? See how humanitarian we are? An' we sprung 'im, just like that! We're a power to be reckoned with!" |
The nine-day uprising in Najaf has killed hundreds and threatened to undermine the rule of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who is walking a tightrope trying to crush the radical Shi'ite rebellion across southern Iraq that has hit oil exports. Speaking on Thursday after US marines backed by aircraft and tanks launched an assault on Sadr's Mehdi fighters around the Imam Ali Mosque and an ancient cemetery -- both militia strongholds -- Allawi urged the fighters to surrender.
| Ummm... That doesn't sound so conflicted to me... |
Sadr spokesman Ahmad al-Shinabi said the cleric was wounded at 4.30 a.m. in the cemetery on Friday. "He was in the cemetery at the time. He was wounded in the chest, arm and leg," Shinabi told Reuters in Najaf. Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib denied Sadr was wounded and said a truce had been in force since last night. He said the government was negotiating Sadr's departure from the revered Imam Ali shrine, where he has been holed up with his fighters.
| Methinks Tater's indulging in a little John Kerry-style bravery there... |
Residents said Najaf was quieter than on Thursday, but there had been sporadic clashes overnight from the city centre. Despite the government denial that Sadr was wounded, the news could trigger outrage from the majority Shi'ite community, where there is growing anger at the US assault near Iraq's holiest Shi'ite sites even from those who scorn Sadr's views.
| That's what it's supposed to do. The rubes buy that stuff every time... |
Witnesses said US forces had allowed several ambulances to take out at least eight wounded Mehdi fighters. "Sayyed Moqtada will not be touched if he leaves the shrine peacefully," Naqib said.
Posted by: Fred 2004-08-13 |
