‘Invaders Cannot Enter Necef’

Sadr, who is currently besieged by U.S. soldiers surrounding Necef, addressed the people for the first time in the last ten days. "These units [Coalition Forces] may stay for years in the places they are now and they can protect their positions, so trying to reach an agreement with them is of futile," continued Sadr. He also clamied that under no circumstances would he disarm his ‘Mehdi Army’.

Sadr, who had previously announced that he wanted to die a martyr, added: "Please help me to be patient. Keep in mind that this is a war waged against your religion. Some accuse us of delaying the period of sovereignty and the establishment of a government. What we are doing is delaying the sale of Iraq and the establishment of a disloyal government."

In his statement yesterday to the Lebanese newspaper Al- Sefir, Sadr said that if he were captured or killed by U.S. trrops, the Iraqis would respond with unimaginable violence. Sadr did not discuss whether they were carrying on negotiations with America. A spokesman of Sadr had said on Wednesday that Sadr had eliminated the conditions he had put on a bargain with the U.S.

U.S. Threathened With ‘Civil Disobedience’

Five people were reportedly killed in skirmishes between U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen in Kufe, outside of Necef. Eyewitnesses reported that a series of explosions occurred in Kufe and dozens of armed militiamen were seen going to the outer parts of the city where there were the skirmishes with coalition forces took place. Two Iraqi police were killed in the neighborhood of the mosque controlled by the Muqtada al-Sadr militiamen in the Iraqi city of Kerbela.

On the other side, one of the representatives of the Sunni society in Iraq, the Sunni Scholars Committee, has warned that they would start a civil disobedience movement if the situation in Fallujah did not return to normal. Fallujah has been under siege by U.S. marines for 12 days. The Committee official responsible for Information, Suleyman Abdusselam Al-Kubaysi, claimed that the American troops wanted to occupy the city. It was also reported that for the first time, a direct meeting was planned between representatives from Fallujah and U.S. authorities.

Meanwhile, 15 Iraqis died in clashes between the U.S. troops and resistance fighters in Fallujah the previous night. A U.S. F-16 bombed the city yesterday. The U.S. troops had started an operation in the city where four American security staff were killed the previous week. More than 600 Iraqis have lost their lives in Fallujah so far.