UN rules out elections in Iraq before authority transfer; Al-Seistani representative calls for desolving municipal council in Karbala

Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbale, the representative of the religious Shiite clergy Ayatullah al-Seisatni in Karbala threatened to flare up an armed people's revolution in the city unless its municipal council which was appointed by the American civil administration is desolved.

Al-Karbale criticized John Berry, the representative of the American civil administrator of Iraq over abrogating the old council and appointing a new council, considering the council as null and illegitimate, calling on its members to resign.

These threats came to escalate the differences between the occupation authorities and the Shiite references over the American plans to transfer authorities to the Iraqis. Al-Seistani called on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution stating to make elections within a short time after authority transfer. He called for that the resolution will have clear guarantees to that there will be postponement for the elections.

In another development, thousands of Shiite in al-Najaf city demonstrated yesterday demanding organization of general elections in Iraq. The organizers of the demonstration circulated a statement which called on the Iraqi people with all its social strata to defend their legitimate right to making the elections. The statement also called on the UN not to oppose the will of the people of Iraq to choose their representatives.

Meantime, at least one American soldier was wounded in a bomb explosion near Balad, 75 Km from Baghdad. The soldier was within a convoy of military vehicles carrying thousands of soldiers who were to leave Iraq back home to be replaced by members of the first troops contingent.

On the other hand, the American occupation forces announced in a statement that it had released 10 Iraqis from Abu Gharib prison near Baghdad in the course of the program to release detainees who are not involved directly in resistance operations.

In the course of this program, some 72 Iraqis were released from Abu Gharib prison, according to the American sources after they gave up violence and getting a guarantee from a religious and tribal chieftain.