State of fear in Baghdad; Saddam calls for general strik; Damascus meeting to 'accelerate end of occupation'

Syria has specified the objectives of the neighboring states of Iraq meeting due to be held in Damascus tomorrow ( Saturday) to "study means to alleviate the sufferings of the Iraqi people in the course of efforts aimed at accelerating the end of occupation," at a time when Baghdad is overwhelmed by rumors on a new series of suicide explosions expected to be on Saturday with the beginning of a general strike for three days said to be called for by the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The supposed call by Hussein is "in order to prove to our enemy we are united people."

The extent of fear in the residents of Baghdad reached an extent that pushed the people to force their children to stay home immediately after school and not to leave for any place of fears to be the victim of explosions similar to those that hit the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday and targeted a headquarters for the Red Cross ICRC and centers for the Iraqi police.

In a statement, the Syrian foreign ministry said that Syria extended invitations to the foreign ministers if Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Turkey and Kuwait "to attend the Damascus meeting which it explained as being dedicated 'to the "countries neighboring Iraq to discuss current developments in it and its reflections on the Arab and regional conditions."

The statement added that this meeting comes "in the framework of consultation meetings of the neighboring states which were held before in Istanbul, Riyadh, and Tehran." It added that "it is natural that this meeting will reflect total solidarity with the Iraqi people in its crisis and to discuss means of alleviating its sufferings in the framework of efforts aiming at ending the occupation."

The Syrian announcement came to deny news reports which indicated several days ago that the Iraqi foreign minister Hoshiar Muhammad Zeibar was invited to attend the Damascus meeting. However, diplomatic sources in Damascus said that the "door is still open" during the two coming days to invite Zeibar to the meeting, noting that the discussion on the issue of a representative for the Interim Governing Council representative centered on whether it will be "necessary and important" before it is decided to exclude such participation in a meeting of such kind so as not to "legitimize the current status in Iraq."