One American killed in al-Falouja; Annan: work is underway to form a multinational force
Iraq-USA, Politics, 3/30/2004

The UN secretary general Kofi Annan said yesterday that the UN Security Council is working to form a multinational force with the aim to help improve the security situation of an elected Iraqi government, while the UN said that the Iraqi officials have to agree on a basic framework for the elections before the end of next May if they wish to make elections in January as scheduled.

Annan told the Italian " Corriera De La Sera " paper "my impression is that they ( members of the UN Security Council) with a multinational forces under a united leadership can collaborate with a sovereign government in Iraq and contributes to the security of the country." The director of the election support department at the UN in Iraq, Karina Perille, said after her meeting with members of the Interim governing council in Baghdad that the timetable is very narrow but making the elections is possible if the basic agreements organizing the electoral process is made within two months.

A UN team chaired by Perelle is visiting Iraq for several weeks. This is the second visit during the current year, at the invitation of the Iraqi governing council and the occupation authority. Perellie said " we will seek to meet with most members of the Iraqi people's groups." Another UN delegation is expected to arrive in Iraq to be headed by another envoy for Annan, al-Akhdar al-Ibraheimi, later this week in order to help in defining the shape of the government which will assume authority on June 30.

Meantime, the local government of Karkouk yesterday issued a decision for halting works of the city's municipality. The governor of Karkouk, Abdul Rahman Mustafa Zankana, said that "halting works of the council came after the Arab and Turkman groups suspended their membership and the demands raised by the Keldo- Assure community to find a common position among all religious and ethnical sides." He added "we, as a government in Karkouk demand the occupation authority to interfere to solve this problem which threatens the future of citizens in Karkouk." Meanwhile, the American occupation army said that one American soldier was killed when one bomb went off near a military procession near al-Falouja town to the west of Baghdad.

In al-Basra five Islamists were injured in violent confrontations that took place in Basra with British soldiers who came to get them out of a building they had confiscated in the downtown of the city.

An official in " Tha'r Allah" militias; one of the Islamic militias deployed in Basra said that " British soldiers came to get us out of the building by sticks and confrontations took place during which five of our members were wounded." He added "several British soldiers who left the building after confiscating light weapons we had, were wounded," noting that the press office for this organization is situated in this building.

Moreover, the American army announced in a statement that its soldiers killed four during clashes with resistance men who tried to attack one American convoy in al-Musil during which two American soldiers were wounded.

Three members of the Iraqi police were wounded in a land mine explosion to the west of Baqouba yesterday, hours after the killing of one Iraqi and his wife in a similar explosion while they were walking near a neighboring school in the downtown of Sameraa.

Previous Stories:
  Occupation forces in Iraq closed a paper for al-Sader   (3/29/2004)
  Arab journalists union condemns reporters assassination in Iraq   (3/23/2004)
  Baghdad: the killing of al-Arabeyah photographer by the American bullets   (3/19/2004)

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

Search