Najaf violence dominates conference — IRAQ | 世界のニュースを英語で読むならジャパンタイムズウィークリー


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Najaf violence dominates conference

Ayad Allawi

The three-day National Conference in Baghdad, which opened Aug. 15, was supposed to be a revolutionary moment in Iraq's democratic transformation post-Saddam Hussein, an unprecedented gathering of 1,300 Iraqis from all ethnic and religious groups for vigorous debate over their country's course.

It was intended to increase the legitimacy of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government, which is deeply dependent on American troops and money even after the official U.S. occupation ended.

But the violence in Najaf, which resumed Aug. 15 after cease-fire talks broke down, has diverted the gathering.

The deadly showdown between U.S. troops and Iraqi militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf dominated the conference, with tribal and religious leaders deciding to send 60 delegates to the holy city to try to persuade the radical Shiite cleric to call off his fighters.

Aides to al-Sadr said the cleric, whose Mahdi Army militia have been battling the Americans from Najaf's vast cemetery and revered Imam Ali Shrine since Aug. 5, welcomed the move. "We are ready to accept any mediation for a peaceful solution," Ahmed al-Shaibany said in Najaf.

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