Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Sistani arrives in Najaf; 45 killed in attacks
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2004-08-26 21:37

    Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric arrived in Najaf Thursday to try to end a bloody three-week uprising as tensions rose sharply following attacks in a nearby town that killed 45 people and wounded 170.


    An Iraqi youth lies on a hospital stretcher after he was injured by unidentified gunmen when they opened fire on a peaceful demonstration supporting radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Kufa, Iraq Wednesday Aug. 25, 2004. [AP]
    Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani drove into the battered holy city of Najaf in a huge convoy, guarded by dozens of police pickups with their sirens wailing. Scores of police brandished AK-47 rifles as they drove past thousands lining the streets.

    The violence in nearby Kufa came as Sistani's efforts to try to persuade fighters loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to leave Najaf's holiest shrine appeared to be gaining momentum. Sistani would soon unveil a peace plan, his aides said.

    Tens of thousands of Iraqis in cars and on foot, many appearing to respond to Sistani's call to rescue the holy city, were converging on Najaf from several regions, witnesses said.

    A mortar attack on Kufa's main mosque killed at least 25 Sadr supporters as hundreds of his men gathered inside, officials said. Shi'ite marchers were fired on in Kufa around the same time and 20 were killed, a Reuters photographer said.

    The photographer said he had seen 20 bodies under blankets. It was unclear who opened fire or who launched the mortar.

    Mohammed Abed al-Kadhem, a doctor at a hospital in the area, said 25 dead and 100 wounded had been brought in from the mosque attack, and at least 10 dead and 70 wounded from the shooting. Other victims were taken to another hospital in the area.

    Television pictures showed dozens of wounded men lying in pools of blood around the mosque.

    TEST FOR ALLAWI

    Both the moderate Sistani and the radical Sadr have called on their supporters to converge on Najaf, where Mehdi Army militiamen loyal to Sadr are holed up in the Imam Ali mosque.

    Hundreds have been killed in the past three weeks in fighting between the militia and U.S. and Iraqi government forces. The clashes have driven oil prices to record highs and undermined interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

    An aide with Sistani on the journey from the southern city of Basra said the 73-year-old Iranian-born cleric would unveil a plan to resolve the Najaf crisis. Sistani arrived back from London Wednesday after heart treatment.

    "On his arrival, a (peace) initiative will be launched," aide Hamed al-Khafaf told Reuters from Sistani's convoy.

    Allawi said he had ordered his forces to observe a 24-hour cease-fire in Najaf from 3 p.m. (1100 GMT) to help the talks.

    In a statement, he said representatives of the rebel cleric Sadr -- who has appeared to be ready to accept peace proposals in the past only to back away -- had indicated they would accept the plan from Sistani.

    Allawi said Mehdi fighters would be offered an amnesty if they gave up their weapons and left the Imam Ali shrine, and Sadr would also be given safe passage if he ended the uprising.

    Military operations would resume 24 hours later if no agreement was reached, Najaf's governor said.

    Sistani's peace plan will include getting the Mehdi militia out of the Imam Ali mosque and calling on U.S. marines encircling the shrine to leave, aides said.

    OVERNIGHT CLASHES

    Overnight, U.S. warplanes unleashed a fierce attack on rebel targets in Najaf. The strikes came just after U.S. artillery fire rattled the city which has a peacetime population of 500,000, about 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

    Sistani left Najaf for medical treatment in London just as the Najaf uprising began three weeks ago. Dressed in a black robe and turban, with a flowing white beard and dark rings around his eyes, he made a dramatic return to Iraq Wednesday.

    His followers say the cleric's intervention could break the deadlock in Najaf and ensure a peaceful resolution.

    Sistani played a role in ending a similar uprising from the Mehdi militia in April and May.

    Sadr has challenged the collegiate leadership of the Najaf clergy headed by Sistani and styled himself as the face of anti-U.S. Shi'ite resistance. Aged only about 30, Sadr has proven a stubborn foe of Iraq's U.S.-backed government.

    U.S. firepower has failed to get his rebels out of the mosque as have threats and peace offerings from Allawi.



     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    Guo wins gold in 3m springborad diving

     

       
     

    Authorities acting to prevent epidemics

     

       
     

    Tokyo urged to teach true history

     

       
     

    Efforts pay off against typhoon

     

       
     

    Report: Agricultural situation improves

     

       
     

    Official promises action on arrears

     

       
      Bush campaign lawyer quits over ties to ads group
       
      Russia looks for cause of twin plane crashes
       
      British lawmakers plan to impeach Blair
       
      Sistani to lead peace mission to embattled Iraq city
       
      Darfur talks progress on more AU forces
       
      Iraq prison probe faults intelligence unit
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      American "democracy" under the microscope...  
    Advertisement
             
    亚洲AV无码资源在线观看| 少妇性饥渴无码A区免费 | 午夜不卡久久精品无码免费| 韩国中文字幕毛片| 久久人妻少妇嫩草AV无码专区| 最近免费中文字幕大全免费 | 惠民福利中文字幕人妻无码乱精品| 少妇性饥渴无码A区免费| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人| AV无码久久久久不卡网站下载| 亚洲国产精品无码专区影院| 最近中文字幕免费完整| 亚洲男人第一无码aⅴ网站| 国产亚洲精品a在线无码| 亚洲成A人片在线观看无码不卡| 中文字幕视频一区| 亚洲av综合avav中文| 中文在线最新版天堂bt| 免费A级毛片无码鲁大师| AA区一区二区三无码精片| 熟妇无码乱子成人精品| 亚洲国产精品无码专区影院| 中文字幕av无码一区二区三区电影 | 一本色道无码道DVD在线观看| 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆| 无码日韩精品一区二区人妻| 国产精品亚韩精品无码a在线| 无码A级毛片免费视频内谢| 最新国产精品无码| 永久免费AV无码网站国产| 免费无码午夜福利片69| 中文字幕亚洲一区二区va在线| 色综合久久中文字幕综合网| 日本中文字幕电影| 一本一道AV无码中文字幕| 亚洲欧美日韩中文在线制服| 中文亚洲AV片不卡在线观看| 久久亚洲精品中文字幕三区| 精品久久久久久久中文字幕 | 中文字幕在线观看亚洲日韩| 天堂资源8中文最新版|