|
Arab league chief visits Iraq for first
time since war
20.10.2005
|
|
|
|
Baghdad, 20 Oct.
(AKI) - The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa,
arrived in Iraq on Thursday for his first visit
since the US-led liberation which brought down the
regime of Saddam Hussein. Officials say the trip is
a mission aimed at promoting national
reconciliation, following fears Moussa has
previously voiced about civil war breaking out in
Iraq, the Emirates newspaper Gulf News reports.
The Arab League wants to organise a reconciliation
conference between all Iraq's factions at its
headquarters in Cairo at a future date.
During his visit the secretary-general is expected
to meet Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and
President Jalal Talabani, as well as the influential
Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Last month, an Arab League delegation visiting Iraq
was attacked by gunmen, who killed three of their
police escorts.
The Arab League has been criticised by some Iraqis
for abandoning the country during the last two
years, the newspaper reports. Iraq's new
constitution has also been criticised for not
placing enough emphasis on the country's Arab
identity.
This week al-Qaeda in Iraq denounced the Arab
League's reconciliation conference plans, accusing
the pan-Arab body of serving American interests.
A statement posted on a website often used by
insurgents said the "Arab League initiative is a new
conspiracy to save their American master under the
pretext of national reconciliation, maintaining
Iraq's unity and protecting the Sunnis against
falling under Iranian influence."
Moussa was going to Iraq to "convince the Sunnis to
enter the political game with the Shiites...in
exchange for stopping the tide of jihad in the Sunni
areas," the statement said, adding: "The Crusaders
have found themselves drowned in a bottomless
swamp...they have found no better allies than the
old Arab agents and their League."
www.adnki.com
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 