Arabs need to check on Iraqis conditions said cleric

The head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq Mohammed Baqer Al Hakim, leader of the Iraqi Islamic Shiite opposition, called for checking on the living conditions of the Iraqi people by examining prisons, hospitals and areas that have been subjected to coercion by the Iraqi government.

Hakim said that there is no Arab relief organization working in northern Iraq. He referred to his visit to Kuwait and his meeting with its Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad, the heir to the throne Saad Al Abdalla Al Sabah, and Foreign Minister Sabah Al Ahmad and said that they are concerned about the suffering of the Iraqi people and that they support the Iraqi people and want to get them relief assistance.

Hakim, who lives in Iran, also said that there is extensive coercion and detentions in the south of Iraq against the tribes and their youth. He added that the "Iraqi regime" does not have the confidence of either the Syrian or Iranian regimes.