A spokesman for rebel leader Moqtada al-Sadr yesterday expressed surprise at threats of an imminent attack on his militia by Iraqi forces, saying the Shiite cleric had agreed to demands made by peace mediators.
"We are surprised by the declaration and threat by the minister of defense ... because we have given our full accord to the initiative presented by the delegation," Ahmed Shibani said on al-Jazeera television.
Defense Minister Hazem al-Shaalan vowed earlier yesterday that a "decisive" battle would be launched against al-Sadr's militiamen, who he said must surrender within hours in the central holy city of Najaf, where heavy fighting raged earlier in the day.
"The coming hours will be decisive and we will teach them a lesson they will never forget," Shaalan told a news conference on a visit to Najaf, flanked by the holy city's governor Adnan al-Zorfi.
US-led Iraqi government forces have been locked in a standoff with al-Sadr's Mehdi Army for nearly two weeks.
"In the coming hours they must surrender," Shaalan said, stressing that Iraqi troops were making the "final military preparations" should the militiamen not lay down their weapons.
"The Mehdi Army should be dissolved and Moqtada al-Sadr brought before the prime minister, who is the one to decide what Moqtada al-Sadr's fate should be," he added.
In Baghdad, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the government was determined to restore security in Najaf as soon as possible.
"The Iraqi government will not sit idly by in the face of this insurgency, but it is serious about restoring security and stability in the holy city as soon as possible," said a statement issued by his office.
Shaalan earlier told al-Arabiya television that a "decisive" battle would be unleashed later yesterday to wipe al-Sadr's militia out of Najaf.
"Today will witness a decisive battle against Sadr followers," that would "crush the Mehdi Army and force them out of the city" of Najaf, he told the pan-Arab television station.
"Only Iraqis will enter the mausoleum. There will not be an American intervention" inside the shrine, he said.
"The American intervention will only be through cover from the air and some ways leading to the mausoleum, but the entrance into the mausoleum will be 100 percent Iraqi," he said.
Shaalan said "we have trained our sons from the National Guards to lead the assault [into the mausoleum], and God willing, it will be completed in a few hours."
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday the Americans were "unlikely" to storm the mausoleum, which would antagonize Shiites across the region.
One day after al-Sadr's apparent snub of peace delegates from a key national conference in Baghdad who braved the violence to visit the holy Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, where al-Sadr's forces are holed up, Zorfi was pessimistic about peace.
"I think that options for peace have narrowed," he told the news conference.
Earlier yesterday, US troops, backed by helicopter gunships, pounded militia bastions in Najaf's Old City.
A mortar round slammed into a busy market in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, killing at least six civilians, the US military and hospital officials said. Twenty-three people were wounded in the 1pm attack, officials said.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS