Fears of civil war in Iraq grow
-23/02/06
Fears of civil war in Iraq are growing after
Fears of civil war in Iraq grow
-23/02/06
Fears of civil war in Iraq are growing after fifty-three people were killed in Baghdad in the 24 hours since the bombing of a major Shiíite shrine sparked the worst sectarian violence the country has seen since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Gunmen sprayed a Sunni mosque in the city of Baquba, northeast of the capital, killing one person in the latest of dozens of such incidents that have left religious and political leaders scrambling to halt a descent into all-out civil war.
Most of the people killed in Baghdad were Arab Sunnis who were attacked at mosques, police said.
The bloodbath comes just two months after George W Bush claimed in a presidential address that the Iraq war was ‘being won’, but also warnings from Christian peacemakers in Iraq.
In the bloodiest apparent reprisal for the attack on one of Shiíite Islamís holiest site, men in police uniform seized 12 Sunni rebel suspects, including two Egyptians, from a prison in the mainly Shiíite city of Basra and killed 11 of them.
President Jalal Talabani summoned leaders of all sides to a summit at 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) after the bombing provoked outrage among majority Shiíites that surpassed the anger caused by thousands of killings by Sunni militants since US forces toppled Saddamís Sunni-dominated government three years ago.
US President George W. Bush, whose diplomats and military commanders are pressing Shiíite leaders to accept Sunnis in a national unity government after they took part in an election in December, urged Iraqis not to rise to the bait of what US and Iraqi officials called an al Qaeda attempt to fuel civil strife.
ìViolence will only contribute to what the terrorists sought to achieve,î he said in a statement, as 130,000 US troops stood by to back up Iraqís new security forces and keep order.
Two months ago, when the US president suggested that the war was being won, Christian Peacemakers living in Iraq said that they were observing a very different situation to the one the President described.
The Christians warned about an ongoing a loss of faith and trust in the United States government by both Iraqis and Americans, an absence of security, lack of basic services, and limited reconstruction. They also highlight the continuing bombing of civilians, kidnapping, torture and extra judicial deaths.
The United Nations Security Council has now sounded a note of alarm in calling on Iraqis to rally behind a non-sectarian government.
ìThe members of the Security Council understand the anguish caused by the attacks but urge the people of Iraq to defy its perpetrators by showing restraint and unity,î it said.
Washington wants stability to help it extract its forces but Shiíite political leaders renewed sharp criticisms of its calls for them to give Sunnis key posts in government, with one party leader accusing the US ambassador of encouraging the bombers by supporting Sunni demands for a share of power this week.
Fears of civil war in Iraq grow
-23/02/06
Fears of civil war in Iraq are growing after fifty-three people were killed in Baghdad in the 24 hours since the bombing of a major Shi’ite shrine sparked the worst sectarian violence the country has seen since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Gunmen sprayed a Sunni mosque in the city of Baquba, northeast of the capital, killing one person in the latest of dozens of such incidents that have left religious and political leaders scrambling to halt a descent into all-out civil war.
Most of the people killed in Baghdad were Arab Sunnis who were attacked at mosques, police said.
The bloodbath comes just two months after George W Bush claimed in a presidential address that the Iraq war was ‘being won’, but also warnings from Christian peacemakers in Iraq.
In the bloodiest apparent reprisal for the attack on one of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest site, men in police uniform seized 12 Sunni rebel suspects, including two Egyptians, from a prison in the mainly Shi’ite city of Basra and killed 11 of them.
President Jalal Talabani summoned leaders of all sides to a summit at 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) after the bombing provoked outrage among majority Shi’ites that surpassed the anger caused by thousands of killings by Sunni militants since US forces toppled Saddam’s Sunni-dominated government three years ago.
US President George W. Bush, whose diplomats and military commanders are pressing Shi’ite leaders to accept Sunnis in a national unity government after they took part in an election in December, urged Iraqis not to rise to the bait of what US and Iraqi officials called an al Qaeda attempt to fuel civil strife.
‘Violence will only contribute to what the terrorists sought to achieve,’ he said in a statement, as 130,000 US troops stood by to back up Iraq’s new security forces and keep order.
Two months ago, when the US president suggested that the war was being won, Christian Peacemakers living in Iraq said that they were observing a very different situation to the one the President described.
The Christians warned about an ongoing a loss of faith and trust in the United States government by both Iraqis and Americans, an absence of security, lack of basic services, and limited reconstruction. They also highlight the continuing bombing of civilians, kidnapping, torture and extra judicial deaths.
The United Nations Security Council has now sounded a note of alarm in calling on Iraqis to rally behind a non-sectarian government.
‘The members of the Security Council understand the anguish caused by the attacks but urge the people of Iraq to defy its perpetrators by showing restraint and unity,’ it said.
Washington wants stability to help it extract its forces but Shi’ite political leaders renewed sharp criticisms of its calls for them to give Sunnis key posts in government, with one party leader accusing the US ambassador of encouraging the bombers by supporting Sunni demands for a share of power this week.