Gunmen yesterday assassinated a member of an influential Sunni clerics' group that has called for a boycott of elections, just a day after Iraqi officials announced the balloting would be held Jan. 30 in spite of rising violence in Iraq.
Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, was shot by gunmen at his home in northern Mosul -- a sign of the continuing violence that wracks the country.
Iraq's first elections since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship are scheduled for Jan. 30, and Iraqi authorities said ballots will be cast even in volatile areas -- including Fallujah, Mosul and other parts of the Sunni Triangle
The vote for the 275-member National Assembly is seen as a major step toward building democracy after years of Saddam's tyranny.
The ongoing violence, which escalated this month with the US-led offensive against Fallujah, has raised fears voting will be nearly impossible in insurgency-torn regions -- or that Sunni Arabs angry at the US-Iraqi crackdown will reject the election. If either takes place, it could undermine the vote's legitimacy.
Elsewhere yesterday, a US patrol that came under attack returned fire, killing two attackers, according to eyewitnesses. The insurgents launched the attack in Hawija, about 240km north of Baghdad. The US military had no immediate confirmation.
The former police chief of the northern city of Mosul was arrested after allegations that his force allowed insurgents to take over police stations during this month's uprising, Deputy Governor Khasro Gouran said yesterday.
Brigadier General Mohammed Kheiri Barhawi was arrested Sunday by Kurdish militia in northern Irbil, where he fled after he was fired in the wake of the uprising.
Meanwhile, countries taking part in the conference on Iraq differ on how to assist the nation, but they strongly support the interim government's efforts to crush the insurgency and hold elections in January, delegates said yesterday.
The conference, which is scheduled to end today, will not set a deadline for the withdrawal of the US-led multinational force, as desired by France and some Middle Eastern countries, according to a copy of the draft final communique obtained by reporters.
Iraq has asked Egypt to convene the conference in a bid to augment support for its battle against insurgents and its plan to hold elections. The two-day meeting brings together the neighboring states of Iraq, plus Egypt and several other Arab countries, China, as well as regional bodies such as the G8, UN, EU, Arab League and the OIC.
Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa toured the region seeking support for a withdrawal of foreign forces.
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A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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