Sadr Welcomes Pope’s Mediation Offer

Sadr Spokesman Ahmed Shaybani said that their approach to the offer is affirmative and that they invited the Pope to solve the crisis. The Vatican announced yesterday that it is ready to take initiatives for mediation.

Meanwhile, a committee consisting eight political and religious leaders of the Iraqi National Conference arrived in Najaf yesterday to engage in discussions with Sadr. US ally Sheikh Hussein Sadr leads the committee. The committee will try to convince Moqtada Al-Sadr to end the resistance in the city and disarm his militia forces. Najaf’s city center was the scene of intense fighting yesterday.

The Iraqi National Conference, which opened on Sunday (August 15), was extended until an agreement is reached on the 100 members that will make up the interim National Council. Several independent delegates had requested additional time to announce their own candidates.

In other news, seven people, two of whom were children, lost their lives in a mortar attack yesterday in Bagdat (Baghdad) near where the Conference is being held. 14 people lost their lives in skirmishes in the Sadr City district of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, one of the nephews of Saddam Hussein applied to Sweden for asylum. Saddam’s nephew had been working as a general in the Iraqi army.