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Najaf’s
No. 2 Resigns In Protest At US ‘Terrorist’ Acts
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"I strongly condemn such terrorist acts [of the US forces]," Kurashi |
BAGHDAD,
August 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The deputy
governor of the restive Iraqi city of An-Najaf resigned on Thursday,
August 12, in protest at the 'terrorist' acts of the US occupation
forces as deadly raids into the holy city has left hundreds of Shiite
fighters and civilians killed.
Jawdat
Kazem Al-Kurashi said in a statement carried by Aljazeera satellite
channel that he could not wait and see his homeland and Shiite holy
shrines being desecrated by US forces.
"I
strongly condemn such terrorist acts [of the US forces], which badly
damaged our holy city and killed hundreds of civilians," he said.
Thousands
of US forces stormed
An-Najaf early on Thursday in a full-scale assault against Mahdi Army
of Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr, whose followers have been battling
occupation forces for eight consecutive days.
An-Najaf
fighting is part of a Shiite uprising in several cities across central
and southern Iraq. It is the second rebellion from the Mahdi Army in
four months.
An-Najaf
Governor Adnan Al-Zofri said on August 6 that US occupation forces killed
400 Iraqis and detained 1,000 others in the bloody
clashes that erupted a day earlier.
The
bloodbath in the holy city seemed to have pit Iraqi officials against
one another, who differed on how to end the crisis in An-Najaf.
Iraq's
interim deputy president Ibrahim Al-Jaafari urged Wednesday US troops
to leave An-Najaf.
"I
call for multinational forces to leave An-Najaf and for only Iraqi
forces to remain there," Jaafari said in remarks broadcast on
Al-Jazeera television.
"Iraqi
forces can administer An-Najaf to end this phenomenon of violence in
this city that is holy to all Muslims."
Sadr
renewed Wednesday his call for his supporters to keep fighting US
occupation forces even if he was killed or captured.
"Keep
fighting even if you see me a prisoner or a martyr. God willing you
will be victorious."
165
Killed
The
Iraqi health ministry said on Thursday that clashes across war-torn
Iraq have left 165 people dead and nearly 600 wounded in the last 24
hours.
A
ministry spokeswoman said 75 people were
killed and 148 wounded from US bombing in the Shiite
dominated Al-Sharkiya district of Kut, while 44 died and 164 were
wounded in Baghdad clashes, mostly in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr
City, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
She
said the fighting at An-Najaf left 25 dead and 153 wounded, while 14
were killed and 77 wounded in Amara, and clashes in Diwaniya left
seven dead and 52 wounded.
Sunni
and Shiite leaders have slammed
the bloodbath and called upon the international
community to rein in the Americans.
"Such
incidents are similar to the days of the former regime when Saddam
Hussein used to commit mass killings, while they [the Americans] make
public funerals," Spokesman for the Sunni Muslim Scholars
Association Bashar Al-Faidi.
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