Shiites defy accord and seize Najaf police post
 
From news reports AP, Reuters
Friday, June 11, 2004
BAGHDAD Shiite gunmen raided an Iraqi police station in the holy city of Najaf and held it for two hours Thursday in the first outbreak of fighting there since an agreement to end weeks of clashes between U.S. troops and militia forces.
.
Six Iraqis were killed and 29 were wounded, including eight children, hospital officials said. U.S. forces were not involved in the battle.
.
Iraq's interim authorities took steps, meanwhile, to reassure Kurdish members of their government, who have threatened to walk out because the UN Security Council resolution on sovereignty failed to include an endorsement of the interim constitution.
.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's spokesman, Gorgues Hermez Sada, said the government intended to honor the interim constitution while Iraq makes the transition to elections, which are expected next year.
.
The Kurds fear they will be sidelined politically by the Shiite majority, despite assurances from Allawi and others that the new government would stick by its commitments for communal rights.
.
UN diplomats said the decision was made to keep a reference to the interim constitution out of the resolution to appease Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who grudgingly accepted the charter when it was approved in March. Allawi again tried to reassure the Kurdish minority that he would honor the interim constitution, which grants Kurds major concessions, including a virtual veto over a permanent constitution to be drafted next year.
.
Allawi told reporters that the Kurds' concerns had "been resolved." He said he had discussed it with Kurdish leaders in Baghdad, but gave no further details.
.
The chaos that swept the southern city of Najaf began after gunmen loyal to the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr overran the Ghari police station after a 10-hour gun battle, witnesses said. The station, near the Imam Ali Shrine, was looted and police cars were burned. "We sent a quick reaction unit to assist the policemen defending the station, but they were overwhelmed by al-Sadr fighters," said the Najaf governor, Adnan al-Zurufi. "We will solve this problem as soon as possible. We will ask for the help of the Americans, if necessary."
.
Hours later, Sadr's forces withdrew, and rioters looted the damaged cars.
.
Later Thursday, the Iraqi police traded gunfire with Sadr's militia near one of the radical Shiite cleric's houses, said Muhanad Kadhin, a police official. The police also went to a nearby hospital after reports that wounded policemen brought there were being threatened by Sadr fighters.
.
Kadhin said the militiamen started firing first, prompting the police to fire back. No casualties were reported.
.
Fighting ebbed around the main police station, which came under fire Wednesday night when the attacks began.
.
Last week, Sadr agreed to send his fighters home and pull back from the Islamic shrines in Najaf and its twin city of Kufa, handing over security to Iraqi police. The U.S. Army also agreed to stay away from the holy sites to give Iraqi security forces a chance to end the standoff.
.
The clashes illustrate the chaotic situation in Iraq as the U.S. military begins phasing down its operations ahead of the June 30 transfer of sovereignty.
.
One senior U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said coalition forces would not leave the streets immediately after June 30 but would phase down their presence as Iraqi security troops gradually take control. Also Thursday, gunmen claiming to belong to a militant Islamic group displayed four Turks they said they kidnapped, demanding that Turkish companies end all business here and pull staff out of the country. (AP, Reuters)


  E-mail This Article Print Article Text Larger Text Small Single Column Multi Column