The Association of Muslim Scholars, an Iraqi Sunni group staunchly opposed to the United States-led occupation of Iraq, vowed in a conference in Damascus this week to continue fighting foreign soldiers in Iraq. The association -- made up of political, religious and tribal Sunni Iraqi figures -- held a four-day conference that focused on ridding Iraq of US-led forces. The conference, which ended on July 28, was not organised by the Syrian government and Syrian officials did not attend. It was the first time that five-year-old association held its conference in Damascus. | For some reason they didn't meet in Baghdad or Fallujah. Hotels must have been booked. Shriners Convention. Must have been it ... |
"What was taken by force cannot be restored by any other means," said Harith al-Dhari, the association's secretary-general. He claimed that the majority of Iraqis "reject the occupation and believe in the option of resistance". Dhari, who has expressed opposition to al-Qaeda in Iraq, was re-elected to another two-year term at the conference.