Nine Iraqis killed, a reconciliation conference in Irbil
Iraq, Politics, 3/27/2004

Some nine Iraqis were killed and other 25 wounded on Friday by the bullets of the American occupation forces which attacked al-Askari quarters in area in al-Falouja city, to the west of Baghdad, after being attacked by unidentified persons.

The American forces which besieged the area, called on the citizens through loudspeakers to hand over or notify about what it called the terrorists, while the killed and the wounded were taken to the city's hospital. The American army also closed the entrances of the city and prohibited journalists from entering it.

This, however, came after unidentified persons set fire in a secondary oil pipeline in al-Shaibeyah area, near al-Basra city, that feeds oil export stations in southern Iraq.

Meantime, one official at the occupation authority announced yesterday that a terrorism fighting unit currently under training will be put under the order of the Iraqi defense ministry which was declared by the American administrator of Iraq as declared to replace the one which was desolved in May 2003.

The official explained that members in this unit were selected carefully and its first shift will be ready very soon.

On another development, works of the first Iraqi national reconciliation conference started yesterday in Irbil. Northern Iraq for the first time since the collapse of Saddam Hussein regime.

The conference which will be attended by ministers and former leaderships in the Baath Party and certain members of the provisional governing council and Iraqi tribal chieftains aims at closing the file of the past and calling all to take part in the process of building the new Iraqi.

Among the prominent participants in the conference is the former Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Aref and former army commander Ibrahim al-Ansari.

The conference, however, which was held at the invitation of the Kurdistani democratic party and member of the governing council in Iraq Masoud al-Barazani is expected to form a higher committee for national reconciliation similar to the reconciliation committee which was formed in south Africa following the collapse of the " Apartheid regime." The spokesman for the preliminary committee of the conference Fawzi al-Atroushi said in press statements that al-Barazani called " for convening this conference before toppling the Iraqi former regime during the holding of the London conference for the Iraqi opposition in December, 2002.

Worthy mentioning that the same city hosted one week earlier a similar Iraqi conference under the name of the Arab- Kurdish dialogue conference.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Assad meets Iraqi delegation   (3/26/2004)
  An attempt to smuggle the epitaph of Michael Aflaq tomb   (3/26/2004)
  Zeibari highlights Syria, Iraq relations   (3/24/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search