Monday, Aug 09, 2004
Iraq's interim government toughened its uncompromising stance towards a widespread insurgency yesterday. It reinstated the death penalty for murder, drug running and kidnapping, while rejecting calls for talks with militia loyal to the radical Shia Muslim leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iyad Allawi, the interim prime minister, warned during a trip to Najaf that there would be "no negotiation with any militia that bears arms against Iraq and the Iraqi people", and told gunmen to "leave the holy sites quickly, lay down their weapons and return to the rule of order and law".
Fighting between US forces and Mr Sadr's Mahdi army continued around Najaf's ancient cemetery, as more than 5,000 marines and Iraqi forces besieged rebel positions. Two US helicopter gunships pounded the area with missiles, Reuters reported, and there were reports of militiamen laying mines. Clashes also continued in Baghdad, where there was a series of explosions, and in other cities.
The reintroduction of the death penalty, which was suspended by the US occupation authority, is the latest in a string of measures intended to portray Mr Allawi as a tough leader with no tolerance for violent dissent and crime.
On Saturday he introduced a limited amnesty, but excluded murderers and kidnappers. His government also closed the Iraq offices of the Arab satellite channel al-Jazeera.
Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, said on Saturday he was extremely concerned by "the high toll of dead and wounded, including civilian casualties", and said the United Nations was "ready to extend its facilitating role to the current crisis, if this would be helpful".
The offer has been embraced by supporters of Mr Sadr, who have made contact with the UN, but not by the government and the coalition, which claim to have killed and arrested hundreds of insurgents.
Mr Allawi's stance has prompted some concern. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, one of the two Iraqi vice-presidents, recently warned that widespread killing was not the way to rebuild the country.
And a political analyst said yesterday: "I don't buy the analysis that they give them a good hiding and they disperse; this is a social movement of hopeless people who have rallied around an icon. You may heavily affect the Jeshi al-Mahdi (Moqtada's militia), but this will not prevent other groups emerging."
Yesterday, Abdul Hadi Al-Daraji, a Baghdad spokesman for Mr Sadr, warned that the fighting would "increase in the next few days to become a mass uprising". He claimed his group had reached an arrangement with the hardline Sunni Council of Islamic Scholars, which wields considerable influence in cities such as Falluja and Ramadi.
Mr Allawi has nevertheless left Mr Sadr some room for manoeuvre. On Saturday he insisted the Najaf rebels were thieves and criminals, falsely claiming Mr Sadr's patronage, and sai he had received "positive messages" from Mr Sadr. He invited him to take part in elections due by the end of January.
There is also growing concern over Iranian participation in the unrest. Eyewitnesses said there were a number of Iranians fighting in Najaf, and Iran's embassy in Iraq said its consul to the city of Kerbala had been kidnapped by militants. www.ft.com/iraq
By MARK TURNER
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