Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Government urged to stop U.S. violations in Sadr City
Security
(Azzaman) - The Sadr City in Baghdad has been the scene of ongoing raids by U.S. occupation troops in the past weeks and its inhabitants have stage a huge sit-in in protest. The city is the largest suburban area of Baghdad and home to more than 2 million people, predominantly Shiite Muslims. The low-income neighborhood is one of the major strongholds of Shiite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his military wing, the Mahdi Army. The U.S. says the raids are to force Sadr to disband his militias.
Mahdi Army militias have all but vanished from the city currently under the control of pro-Sadr civil servants who administer the city’s public services, schools and hospitals. Angry inhabitants have staged sit-ins and demonstrations, building a human shield that makes it difficult for the invaders to enter the city and practically cuts it off from the rest of Baghdad.
Nassar Rubaie, a Sadr deputy in parliament, has acknowledged that the protests were organized by his group and urged the government not to remain silent in the face of ‘U.S. violations.’ The impoverished city is divided into tribal blocks where tribal chiefs hold tremendous sway. The tribes have traditionally been strong supporters of Sadr and his clerical family.
Rubaie said the government was under obligation to “stop raids and bombings by U.S. troops of the sons of Sadr City and other areas in Iraq and release Iraqi detainees.” He said his group was aware of thousands of detainees held for more than two years without trial. Their families, he said, still have no idea whether they are still alive or dead. “Iraq constitution stresses that judges must be alerted within 24 hours of any arrests but what we are seeing is that U.S. troops incarcerate people for years without trial. “This is unconstitutional,” he said.
Mahdi Army militias have all but vanished from the city currently under the control of pro-Sadr civil servants who administer the city’s public services, schools and hospitals. Angry inhabitants have staged sit-ins and demonstrations, building a human shield that makes it difficult for the invaders to enter the city and practically cuts it off from the rest of Baghdad.
Nassar Rubaie, a Sadr deputy in parliament, has acknowledged that the protests were organized by his group and urged the government not to remain silent in the face of ‘U.S. violations.’ The impoverished city is divided into tribal blocks where tribal chiefs hold tremendous sway. The tribes have traditionally been strong supporters of Sadr and his clerical family.
Rubaie said the government was under obligation to “stop raids and bombings by U.S. troops of the sons of Sadr City and other areas in Iraq and release Iraqi detainees.” He said his group was aware of thousands of detainees held for more than two years without trial. Their families, he said, still have no idea whether they are still alive or dead. “Iraq constitution stresses that judges must be alerted within 24 hours of any arrests but what we are seeing is that U.S. troops incarcerate people for years without trial. “This is unconstitutional,” he said.
Labels: demonstration, Nassar Rubaie, Sadr City
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Sadrists demonstrate in Najaf
Security, Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Hundreds of the Sadrist bloc’s supporters in Najaf staged a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday, calling for an end to arrest campaigns and the release of detainees from the Sadrist bloc, while the spokesman for the bloc said that Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq. “The protesters began the demonstration at 10:00 am on Wednesday from Sahet al-Sadreen (Sadrists' square) in eastern Najaf and ended it at Sahet al-Thawrat al-Eishreen at the eastern exit of the city.
The angry protesters called on the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to release detainees and for the immediate stop to arrest campaigns, which they described as being carried out randomly. “This demonstration aims to call on authorities to stop the recent arrest campaigns by U.S. forces against Sadrists,” the official spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) during the demonstration.
A joint Iraqi and U.S. force last Monday arrested Emad al-Hasnawi, an activist from the Sadrist bloc, from his house in Missan neighborhood in Kufa. U.S. forces also arrested Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi, a senior aide for Muqtada al-Sadr, last Sunday from his house in the neighborhood. “U.S. forces recently launched a new military operation dubbed “Phantom Strike” throughout Iraq, which mainly aims to crack down on Sadrists and elements of the Mahdi Army,” the sheikh also said.
“Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq,” al-Sebani also affirmed. U.S. reports recently asserted that the Shiite cleric is in Iran. “We still adhere to the political process. We withdrew from the government but still have members in the parliament,” he noted. The Sadrist bloc is one of the main components of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and has 30 seats out of the 275-seat parliament.
The angry protesters called on the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to release detainees and for the immediate stop to arrest campaigns, which they described as being carried out randomly. “This demonstration aims to call on authorities to stop the recent arrest campaigns by U.S. forces against Sadrists,” the official spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) during the demonstration.
A joint Iraqi and U.S. force last Monday arrested Emad al-Hasnawi, an activist from the Sadrist bloc, from his house in Missan neighborhood in Kufa. U.S. forces also arrested Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi, a senior aide for Muqtada al-Sadr, last Sunday from his house in the neighborhood. “U.S. forces recently launched a new military operation dubbed “Phantom Strike” throughout Iraq, which mainly aims to crack down on Sadrists and elements of the Mahdi Army,” the sheikh also said.
“Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq,” al-Sebani also affirmed. U.S. reports recently asserted that the Shiite cleric is in Iran. “We still adhere to the political process. We withdrew from the government but still have members in the parliament,” he noted. The Sadrist bloc is one of the main components of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and has 30 seats out of the 275-seat parliament.
Labels: demonstration, Emad al-Hasnawi, Najaf, Sadrist bloc, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Iraqis demonstrate against Cheney's visit
Politics
(Al Jazeera) - The US vice-president has urged Iraqi leaders to end fighting and act on overcoming sectarian differences on a visit to Iraq's capital. Dick Cheney kicked off a week-long Middle East tour on Wednesday but his Baghdad stop was met by demonstrations and spiralling violence punctuated by an explosion that shook windows at the US embassy he was at.
He met Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, to discuss security issues and "challenges we are facing in our own political process". He also urged parliament to abandon plans for a two-month summer vacation, saying with important issues pending, "any undue delay would be difficult to explain".
Cheney said Iraqi leaders felt sectarian violence was "down fairly dramatically" even though car bombings and suicide attacks still claim a heavy toll. "I think everybody recognises there still are serious security problems, security threats, no question about it", adding that "we've got a long way to go. I emphasised the importance of making progress on the issues before us, not only the security issues but also on the political issues that are pending before the Iraqi government," he said. "I do believe that there is a greater sense of urgency now than I'd seen previously."
Despite his claims of progress, hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad and Najaf to protest against his visit and call for the withdrawal of US troops. Cheney was at the US embassy inside the heavily protected Green Zone in central Baghdad when an explosion rattled windows, prompting officials to move reporters to the basement for several minutes.
Witnesses said a mortar or rocket appeared to have been fired from the mostly Shia areas on the east side of the Tigris river towards the Green Zone. In Washington, sagging public opinion of George Bush, the US president, has put pressure on the White House to show al-Maliki's government is making progress in attaining stability.
He met Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, to discuss security issues and "challenges we are facing in our own political process". He also urged parliament to abandon plans for a two-month summer vacation, saying with important issues pending, "any undue delay would be difficult to explain".
Cheney said Iraqi leaders felt sectarian violence was "down fairly dramatically" even though car bombings and suicide attacks still claim a heavy toll. "I think everybody recognises there still are serious security problems, security threats, no question about it", adding that "we've got a long way to go. I emphasised the importance of making progress on the issues before us, not only the security issues but also on the political issues that are pending before the Iraqi government," he said. "I do believe that there is a greater sense of urgency now than I'd seen previously."
Despite his claims of progress, hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad and Najaf to protest against his visit and call for the withdrawal of US troops. Cheney was at the US embassy inside the heavily protected Green Zone in central Baghdad when an explosion rattled windows, prompting officials to move reporters to the basement for several minutes.
Witnesses said a mortar or rocket appeared to have been fired from the mostly Shia areas on the east side of the Tigris river towards the Green Zone. In Washington, sagging public opinion of George Bush, the US president, has put pressure on the White House to show al-Maliki's government is making progress in attaining stability.
US troop withdrawal will begin later this year if progress is shown. The vice-president's visit comes two days after Bush held a video conference with al-Maliki about achieving political reconciliation among the majority Shia, the Sunnis and the Kurds.
Labels: demonstration, Dick Cheney, IDF, Najaf, Nouri Al-Maliki, politics, violence
Monday, May 07, 2007
Iraqi government asks Qatar to rein in Al Jazeera
Media
(Azzaman) - The Iraqi government has asked its Qatari counterpart to interfere with the Arabic Aljazeera satellite channel to halt what it described as its anti-Iraqi rhetoric. A statement by the Foreign Ministry said the channel, the Arab world’s most influential broadcaster, hosted “terrorist leaders” and “insulted the national Iraqi symbols in its programs and news bulletins.”
Aljazeera is banned to report from Iraq and its offices have been closed for nearly two years. However, the channel still manages to scoop major competitors by airing interviews and broadcasting events which seem to have angered the Iraqi authorities. There were large-scale demonstrations against the channel in the cities of Nasiriya and Najaf following an Aljazeera news report which said that Shiite clerics do not condemn operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians. The statement signed by Foreign Ministry Hoshyar al-Zaibari said Aljazeera reporting of Iraq-related events mounted to “meddling in internal Iraqi affairs and directly contributes to the incitement of terror.”
Aljazeera is banned to report from Iraq and its offices have been closed for nearly two years. However, the channel still manages to scoop major competitors by airing interviews and broadcasting events which seem to have angered the Iraqi authorities. There were large-scale demonstrations against the channel in the cities of Nasiriya and Najaf following an Aljazeera news report which said that Shiite clerics do not condemn operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians. The statement signed by Foreign Ministry Hoshyar al-Zaibari said Aljazeera reporting of Iraq-related events mounted to “meddling in internal Iraqi affairs and directly contributes to the incitement of terror.”
Labels: Al Jazeera, demonstration, Hoshyar Zibari, Iraq, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Qatar
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Al-Sadr calls for demonstrations against Adhamiyah wall
Security, Politics
(AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers." The remarks, in a statement read by an aide, were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Azamiyah wall, demonstration, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi
Monday, April 16, 2007
Thousands demonstrate in Basrah against governor
Security
(RFE/RL) - Thousands of Iraqis have marched peacefully through the streets of the southern city of Al-Basrah to demand the resignation of a provincial governor. Residents have complained of inadequate electricity, garbage disposal, and water supplies. Demonstrators gathered near an Al-Basrah mosque, then marched to the governor's office, which was surrounded by Iraqi soldiers and police. Protesters are now calling for a three-day sit-in in front of the governor's office starting April 17.
COMMENT: An official of the Sadrist Movement denied that the bloc called for demonstrations in Basra or any other province. Speaking during an Iraqi Parliament session on Sunday, Nassar al-Rubaie, the bloc's spokesman, said the Sadrist bloc had nothing to do with any demonstrations in Basra and has never urged the masses to stage a demonstration in any area of Iraq. A statement on Saturday, signed by popular leaders in Basra, called on citizens to demonstrate and demanded the relief of Basra Governor Mohammed Mosbeh al-Waeli, who in turn accused these popular figures of acting in accordance with a foreign agenda and seeking chaos in Basra. The statement, which was received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), read "if these demands (to sack the governor of Basra) are not met, escalatory measures will be taken." COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Basrah, demonstration, provincial governor
Monday, April 09, 2007
Thousands of Shiites march on Najaf while burning U.S. flags
Security
(AP) - Tens of thousands marched through the streets of two Shiite holy cities Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall. A day earlier, the renegade cleric issued a statement ordering his militiamen to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating "your archenemy."
On Monday, thousands of Shiite demonstrators are marching from Kufa to Najaf's central Sadrain Square where top aides of Sadr -- regarded by the Americans as the most dangerous threat to stability in Iraq -- are expected to address the crowds. Hundreds of banners saying "Down with Bush, Down with America" were carried by protestors as Iraqi police and soldiers guarded checkpoints in and around Najaf and Kufa. Many people, draped in Iraqi flags, set US flags ablaze and some trampled on and struck US and Israeli flags painted on the ground with their shoes, an act considered one of the worst insults in Arab culture. Some Sunni religious groups were also seen participating in the rally.
Two cordons of Iraqi police are lining the route. Some at the rally waved small Iraqi flags; others hoisted up a giant flag 10 yards long. Leaflets fluttered through the breeze reading: "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq." Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd, which was led by at least a dozen turbaned clerics — including one Sunni. Many marchers danced as they moved through the streets.
The demonstration was peaceful, but two ambulances could be seen moving slowly with the marching crowd, poised to help if violence or stampedes broke out. Cars were banned from Najaf for 24 hours starting from 8 p.m. Sunday, said police spokesman Col. Ali Jiryo. Buses idled at all entrances of the city to transport arriving demonstrators or other visitors to the city center. Najaf residents would be allowed to drive, he said.
Security was tight across Iraq, with a 24-hour ban on all vehicles in Baghdad starting from 5 a.m. Monday. The government quickly reinstated Monday as a holiday, just a day after it had decreed that April 9 no longer would be a day off. Monday's demonstration marks four years since U.S. Marines and the Army's 3rd Infantry Division swept into the Iraqi capital 20 days into the American invasion.
Two cordons of Iraqi police are lining the route. Some at the rally waved small Iraqi flags; others hoisted up a giant flag 10 yards long. Leaflets fluttered through the breeze reading: "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq." Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd, which was led by at least a dozen turbaned clerics — including one Sunni. Many marchers danced as they moved through the streets.
The demonstration was peaceful, but two ambulances could be seen moving slowly with the marching crowd, poised to help if violence or stampedes broke out. Cars were banned from Najaf for 24 hours starting from 8 p.m. Sunday, said police spokesman Col. Ali Jiryo. Buses idled at all entrances of the city to transport arriving demonstrators or other visitors to the city center. Najaf residents would be allowed to drive, he said.
Security was tight across Iraq, with a 24-hour ban on all vehicles in Baghdad starting from 5 a.m. Monday. The government quickly reinstated Monday as a holiday, just a day after it had decreed that April 9 no longer would be a day off. Monday's demonstration marks four years since U.S. Marines and the Army's 3rd Infantry Division swept into the Iraqi capital 20 days into the American invasion.
On Sunday, thousands of residents in Baghdad's largest Shiite slum, Sadr City, boarded buses and minivans bound for Najaf. Iraqi flags flew from most houses and shops in Sadr City. Drivers and motorcyclists affixed them to their vehicles. Police escorted convoys of pickup trucks overflowing with young boys waving Iraqi flags, en route to Najaf.
Labels: demonstration, Kufa, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Sadrain Square
Curfew as al-Sadr supporters demonstrate on anniversary of Saddam's fall
Security
(BBC) - Thousands of supporters of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are gathering in the holy city of Najaf to hold mass demonstrations. Mr Sadr has called for a million-strong protest to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's fall. The protesters will demand the withdrawal of coalition troops. A 24-hour ban on movement by all vehicles, for fear of car bomb attacks on the anniversary, has been imposed in Baghdad from 0500 (0100 GMT) on Monday.
Moqtada al-Sadr called for the mass protest in a statement on Sunday. "In order to end the occupation, you will go out and demonstrate," the fiery cleric said. Mr Sadr is not expected to attend the protests. He ordered Iraqis not to "walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy" and to turn all their efforts on US forces. Thousands of Shias responded by heading to Najaf in tightly packed buses and cars, with the Baghdad-Najaf road reportedly crammed.
Some demonstrators shouted slogans: "No, no, no to America... Moqtada, yes, yes, yes," they chanted. Reports said demonstrators had been told to carry the Iraqi flag. "It will be an Iraqi demonstration in the name of all Iraqis," a representative of Mr Sadr told the French news agency AFP. A police spokesman in Najaf, Col Ali Jiryo, said cars were banned from entering the city for a 24-hour period. Buses would transport demonstrators to the city centre, he said.
Senior American officers have described Moqtada al-Sadr as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability, says the BBC's Jonathan Charles in Baghdad. They accuse his Mehdi army militia of carrying out killings, fuelling the sectarian divide between Shias and Sunnis.
Moqtada al-Sadr called for the mass protest in a statement on Sunday. "In order to end the occupation, you will go out and demonstrate," the fiery cleric said. Mr Sadr is not expected to attend the protests. He ordered Iraqis not to "walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy" and to turn all their efforts on US forces. Thousands of Shias responded by heading to Najaf in tightly packed buses and cars, with the Baghdad-Najaf road reportedly crammed.
Some demonstrators shouted slogans: "No, no, no to America... Moqtada, yes, yes, yes," they chanted. Reports said demonstrators had been told to carry the Iraqi flag. "It will be an Iraqi demonstration in the name of all Iraqis," a representative of Mr Sadr told the French news agency AFP. A police spokesman in Najaf, Col Ali Jiryo, said cars were banned from entering the city for a 24-hour period. Buses would transport demonstrators to the city centre, he said.
Senior American officers have described Moqtada al-Sadr as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability, says the BBC's Jonathan Charles in Baghdad. They accuse his Mehdi army militia of carrying out killings, fuelling the sectarian divide between Shias and Sunnis.
COMMENT: Such a large gathering of Shias in one location will present a prime opportunity for militant groups to strike with suicide bombs. The result of such an event, with tensions running high already could have disastrous results in the form of retaliations. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: curfew, demonstration, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Al-Sadr calls for demonstration on April 9
Security
(AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr made a scathing attack on the United States in a statement issued on Friday, blaming it for Iraq’s woes and calling for a mass demonstration April 9 to mark the fourth anniversary of Baghdad’s fall. The statement was the first by al-Sadr since March 14 when he called on his supporters to resist US forces in Iraq through peaceful means. Al-Sadr has been said by US and Iraqi officials to be in neighboring Iran. His aides insist he is still in Iraq.
The latest statement was read to worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kufa, a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad where al-Sadr frequently led the ritual. “I renew my call for the occupier (the United States) to leave our land,” he said in the statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “The departure of the occupier will mean stability for Iraq, victory for Islam and peace and defeat for terrorism and infidels.”
Al Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen fought US troops in 2004 but have generally cooperated with an ongoing US-Iraqi security push in Baghdad, blamed the presence of US forces in Iraq for the violence raging in the country, lack of services as well as sectarian bloodshed. “You, oppressed people of Iraq, let the entire world hear your voice that you reject occupation, destruction and terrorism,” he said in calling for the April 9 demonstration.
“Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land,” he said.
The latest statement was read to worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kufa, a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad where al-Sadr frequently led the ritual. “I renew my call for the occupier (the United States) to leave our land,” he said in the statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “The departure of the occupier will mean stability for Iraq, victory for Islam and peace and defeat for terrorism and infidels.”
Al Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen fought US troops in 2004 but have generally cooperated with an ongoing US-Iraqi security push in Baghdad, blamed the presence of US forces in Iraq for the violence raging in the country, lack of services as well as sectarian bloodshed. “You, oppressed people of Iraq, let the entire world hear your voice that you reject occupation, destruction and terrorism,” he said in calling for the April 9 demonstration.
“Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land,” he said.
Labels: demonstration, Moqtada Al-Sadr, U.S.
