Al-Qathafi announces rejection to send Islamic forces to Iraq
Libya-Iraq, Politics, 7/31/2004

The Libyan leader Muammar al-Qathafi announced his opposition to the idea advocated by Saudi Arabia to sending Islamic forces to Iraq, debated by the US secretary of state Colin Powell with Saudi officials.

The Libyan official news agency quoted al-Qathafi as saying " Arabic or Islamic forces should not be sent to Iraq unless the occupation forces withdraw and replaced by forces at a UN Security Council resolution, otherwise these forces ( the Islamic or Arab ones) will be also considered occupation forces."

In a joint press conference with the Iraqi prime minister Eyad Allai in Jeddah, Powell said that such a force will be send to Iraq " either as part of the coalition forces or a separate organization that will work in the framework of the coalition efforts, but will be there for providing security facilitation or protecting the UN."

For his part, the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sader called in his Friday's sermon yesterday on the Arab and Islamic states not to send forces to Iraq, considering that any forces which will come to Iraq " will be collaboratin with the occupation forces." Al-Sader said in his sermon in al-Koufa mosque ( 160 Km to the south of Baghdad) before hundreds of his supporters " I reccomend all countries which want to help Iraq not to send forces to Iraq, otherwise they will be considered collaborating with the occupation."

Previous Stories:
  Libya severs relations with Iraq   (6/2/2003)
  Al-Assad- Qathafi hold telephone talks   (5/19/2003)
  Al-Tureiki discusses with Arab counterpart, Moussa the war against Iraq   (4/9/2003)

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