In the meantime: Confusion Surrounds Seizure of Iraqi Mosque
Fri Aug 20, 2004 01:00 PM ET
reuters.com
By Michael Georgy
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's interim government said it had defused a Shi'ite rebellion in Najaf on Friday without a shot being fired, but rebel militiamen denied police had seized the city's sacred Imam Ali Mosque from their control.
Witnesses said that by late afternoon, civilians were wandering around inside Iraq's holiest Shi'ite site while workers swept marble floors. There were no police or armed men from the Mehdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in sight.
Amid the extraordinary confusion over a two-week rebellion that has killed hundreds and driven world oil prices to record highs, the United States military said it could not confirm the government had won back the shrine peacefully.
A senior Interior Ministry spokesman said police entered the shrine and arrested hundreds of militiamen.
Any bloodless seizure of the mosque would be a major political victory for interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who since taking over from U.S. occupiers on June 28 has struggled to stem an insurgency and now a Shi'ite revolt in eight cities.
But soon after the seizure was announced, a senior Sadr aide said the statement was untrue.
"The shrine is in the control of the Mehdi Army," said Sheikh Ahmad al-Sheibani, a top militia commander. "The Mehdi Army will resist any attempt by the Iraqi police to control the shrine."
"Procedures are under way to hand over control of the shrine to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani," he added, referring to Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric.
Iraqi police in Najaf told CNN they did not control the Imam Ali Mosque, the broadcaster reported on Friday.
And U.S. Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic said he could not confirm the Najaf mosque was in government hands. He added there were rumors Sadr had fled but his whereabouts were unknown.
"We have no confirmation or intelligence on where he may be," Slavonic said. Continued ...at above link |
