Attempts by tribal leaders in deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Husseinâs home city of Tikrit to broker a ceasefire with US forces appear to have failed. Despite the last-ditch effort to stave off an assault on the last major town under Baathist control, US troops continued their assault on Tikrit, apparently ignoring an appeal from 22 leaders for an end to the attack so that a peaceful surrender could be negotiated. Iraqi troops and paramilitaries had fled the town, said Al-Jazeera TV correspondent Youssef Al-Sharif, who interviewed armed men who said they represented leaders of the 15 main tribal family groups in the city 175 kilometres north of Baghdad.
The men said they took up arms to protect the town from a possible attack by Iraqi Kurdish fighters or Peshmerga moving in from the north after Iraqi troops and paramilitary fighters left. They also said they wanted to prevent the looting that has gripped major Iraqi cities since US forces entered the heart of the capital on Wednesday. âWe are carrying arms to defend our city from the Kurds. We do not want them in our city. We have no problems with the Americans. We want peace but we will not allow the Kurds to come in,â one unidentified man told Al-Sharif.
âWe have 15 tribes here and the leaders of the tribes are negotiating with the Americans. We donât want to fight the Americans. The Iraqi military left the city five days ago,â said the armed man. Another resident Youssef Abdul Aziz said, âWe are ready to surrender, but let them stop their bombardments. After that we are asking for just two days to persuade the Fedayeen to lay down their arms.â |