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Iraq's National Conference refused Wednesday to send a second delegation to the holy city of Najaf to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a day after he rebuffed their demand for a meeting.
Violence continued in the city Wednesday. Conference delegates suggested they were fed up with al-Sadr, believed holed up in the Imam Ali shrine, after their eight man delegation met with his aides Tuesday but never saw the cleric himself. ''If there were anyone sympathizing with him in the past, there will be none from now on because of this stand,'' delegate Abdul-Halim al-Ruhaimi said Wednesday. Amid the clashes, an 8-member delegation from the conference flew Tuesday to Najaf to convince Muqtada al-Sadr to abandon his uprising. The delegation met the firebrand cleric's aides, but al-Sadr himself failed to show up to meet them. Al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany said the cleric did not show because of the ''heavy shelling from the planes and tanks of the U.S. forces.''
Sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard in Najaf again Wednesday as clashes continued. Fighting in Najaf has killed six people and wounded 23 others since Tuesday morning, Hussein Hadi of Najaf General Hospital, said Wednesday. |