UN WARNS OF LOOMING CRISIS IN KIRKUK

All commit to Gulf, Iraq security; Bomb kills 70

KUWAIT (Agencies): Foreign minister of the GCC, Egypt, Jordan, and the US welcomed in their meeting on Tuesday the commitment by the US to defend security of the Gulf, territorial integrity of Iraq, and to ensure a successful, fair and inclusive political process that engaged all Iraqi communities to guarantee stability of the country. This came in the final communique of the fourth consultative meeting foreign ministers of six GCC member states, Egypt, Jordan, and the US. Participants agreed that a stable, prosperous, and unified Iraq was in the interest of all countries and that efforts to achieve national reconciliation that encompassed all elements of Iraqi society was strongly supported. Moreover, they condemned sectarian violence that undermined the ability of the Iraqi people to live in peace and security, and called for the dismantlement of all militias. They expressed desire to “prevent Iraq from becoming a battle ground for regional and international powers” and urged all to help end sectarian violence in Iraq, hoping the Iraqi government would “actively engage all components of the Iraqi people in a real political process and act in a manner that ensures inclusiveness and paves the way for the success of national reconciliation.” The ministers considered the pursuing of these objectives as “the responsibility of the Iraqi government and called for amending the constitution accordingly, and expressed their readiness to support its efforts in this regard.” Violence has been indiscriminate in Iraq since the US-led coalition liberated the country from the grip of the former baathist regime in March 2003. tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel were either killed or injured since the liberation. Conflict On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the ministers considered it “a central and core problem (of the crises in the Middle East) and that without resolving this conflict the region will nor enjoy sustained peace and stability.” They affirmed their commitment to achieving peace in the Middle East through the “two-state solution”, saying the foundation for this path included the Arab Peace Initiative, UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515, as well as the Road Map. Furthermore, they called on parties to abide by the 2005 Sharm El-Sheikh Understandings, and the Agreement on Movement and Access. They hoped the December 2006 meeting between the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert would be “followed by concrete steps in this dialogue.” They reiterated their commitment to support Palestinian economy, building and strengthening the institutions of the Palestinian state. Hamas and Fatah — the two major Palestinian factions — are engaged in lengthly dialogue with other factions to establish a government of national unity with the aim of breaking the international isolation and pave way for assistance. As for Lebanon, the ministers underscored their commitment to full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701. They called for respecting the sovereignty of Lebanon and “non-interference in its internal affairs”. They looked forward to a successful Paris III meetings, due in the French capital later this month, “which will support Lebanon’s long term development and fiscal stability.” The ministers strongly condemned all terrorist attacks in Lebanon since Oct 2004 and affirmed that all those involved must be held accountable. The Lebanese parties are at odds over the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri, who was murdered in downtown Beirut on Feb 14 2005. Support Kuwait on Tuesday signalled Arab states’ support for a US military build-up in Baghdad, saying they hoped President George W. Bush’s plan would help stabilise Iraq. “We expressed our desire to see the president’s plan to reinforce American military presence in Baghdad as a vehicle ... to stabilise Baghdad and prevent Iraq from sliding into this ugly war, this civil war,” Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Salem Al-Sabah told reporters. Sheikh Mohammad was speaking at a joint news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is on a regional tour to drum up support for Bush’s decision to send more than 20,000 new troops to stabilise Iraq. Rice earlier held a meeting in Kuwait with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf Arab states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The United States won Saudi backing on Tuesday for a US plan to stabilise Iraq, but Washington’s Gulf ally said success depended on Baghdad tackling sectarian strife driving the country towards civil war. As part her Arab tour to lobby support for the new US plan for Iraq, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Kuwait from Riyadh and began a meeting with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Gulf Arab states. Many Arab countries, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, fear the plan announced by US President George W. Bush to stabilise Iraq would lead to an early departure of US troops from Iraq, leaving the violence-ravaged country moving towards civil war that might spill beyond Iraq’s borders. “We agree fully with the goals set by the new strategy, which in our view are the goals that — if implemented — would solve the problems that face Iraq,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a joint news conference in Riyadh. But he said the Iraqi government needed to play its part. “(The government) must stop the resistance, bring everyone into the political process and realise the hopes of the people,” he said, adding Shiite militias must be disbanded and the US-backed constitution, seen as pro-Shiite, revised. “(The government) must deal with the issue of militias. “Implementation (of US strategy) requires a positive response by the Iraqis themselves to these goals ... Other countries can help, but the main responsibility in taking decisions rests on the Iraqis,” he said. The US administration has been urging Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to play a greater role in backing Iraq. In Kuwait, Rice was meeting the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — to try to forge a common position on Iraq. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, fears an early US troop withdrawal would solidify Shiite power and leave minority Sunnis at the mercy of Shiite militias. Rice, who met King Abdullah on Monday night, acknowledged the Saudi concern about militias but raised the issue of Saudi debt relief for Iraq, which Washington says would be a big help. “We will continue to work with the Iraqi government to make sure networks running dangerous militias are stopped ... The financial issue will need to be worked out,” Rice said. “We have the same goal, which is an Iraq unified with its integrity and territory intact which doesn’t face outside interference,” she said. The Saudi minister declined to say what Riyadh would do if the new US strategy failed to stabilise the country, though he rejected suggestions that Saudi Arabia would use oil as a political tool to pressure Iran over its policies in the region. Both Washington and Riyadh accuse Shiite power Iran of encouraging militia violence in Iraq. US forces are holding five Iranians after raiding an Iranian government office in the Iraqi city of Arbil last week — the second such operation in Iraq in the past few weeks. A Saudi official said on Monday Iran had asked Saudi Arabia to help ease tensions between the Islamic Republic and the United States, as Washington held out the possibility of “engagement” with Tehran if it changed tack in Iraq. But an Iranian newspaper on Tuesday quoted a foreign ministry official denying a request for mediation, and both Rice and Prince Saudi also played down such talk. “There is no need for mediation,” Saud al-Faisal said, but added: “Our relations with the United States are longstanding ... Iran is a neighbour of Saudi Arabia, so obviously we hope to avoid any conflict.” Rice said on Monday she would bring Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas together soon for informal talks on how to set up a Palestinian state. A senior US official said the meeting would be held in three to four weeks, probably in the Middle East. Arab states are anxious for Washington to renew efforts to find a solution to the historical conflict, which they say is the underlying cause of the region’s political problems. Explosion An explosion outside a Baghdad university as students were heading home for the day killed at least 65 people today, in the deadliest of several attacks on predominantly Shiite areas. The attack came on a day the United Nations said more than 34,000 Iraqi civilians died last year in sectarian violence. Attacks in Baghdad — the university explosion, blasts at a marketplace for used motorcycles and a drive-by shooting — came as at least 109 people were killed or found dead nationwide in what appeared to be a final spasm of violence ahead of an imminent security operation by the Iraqi government and US forces to secure the capital. The violence also came a day after the Iraqi government hanged two of Saddam Hussein’s henchmen in an execution that left many of the ousted leader’s fellow Sunni Muslims seething after one of the accused, the ousted leader’s half brother, was decapitated on the gallows. Cabinet ministers and legislators loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were instructed to end their six-week boycott of the political process, a parliamentarian in the political bloc said today, indicating that the decision was linked to the new security drive. “We might be subjected to an attack and we should try solve the problem politically. We should not give a chance for a military strike against us,” said the legislator, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information was not yet public. The lawmaker said the group’s return was conditional, including demands that the government set up a committee to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops and a second that would set a date by which Iraqi forces were to take control of security nationwide. Until the walkout, the al-Sadr faction was an integral part of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s governing coalition. Six Cabinet ministers and 30 legislators who belong to the movement called the boycott after al-Maliki met with President Bush in Jordan in late November. Much of the violence has been blamed on Shiite militias, particularly the Mahdi Army militia loyal al-Sadr. Dozens of bodies turn up on the streets of Baghdad daily, many showing signs of torture. Tuesday’s largest attacks took place in primarily Shiite neighborhoods and appeared to be the work of Sunnis, who largely make up the insurgency targeting the Iraqi government and US forces. Raad Abbas, a 26-year-old who received shrapnel wounds in the attack at the motorcycle market that killed 13, said he went to the market because the city had been quieter over the past two weeks. “Shortly after midday, I heard an explosion. Motorcycles were flying in the air, people were falling dead and wounded,” he said from his hospital bed. As the curious gathered to look at the aftermath of the first explosion — a bomb attached to a motorcycle — a suicide car bomber drove into the crowd and blew up his vehicle. The attack appeared to target the mainly Shiite neighborhood near the market but also was near the Sheik al-Gailani shrine, one of the holiest Sunni locations in the capital. The bombing near Al-Mustansiriya University took place as students were boarding minivans waiting outside the building to take them home, police said. Some police saying the explosion was caused by a suicide car bomber and others saying two of the minivans blew up as students were boarding. Gunmen About 45 minutes later, gunmen in a minivan and on two motorcycles opened fire on an outdoor market in a mainly Shiite neighborhood in nearby section of eastern Baghdad, police said. At least 11 people were killed. While most of those killed were in Baghdad, two Christian brothers and a Sunni Arab mechanic were shot to death in two separate attacks in Mosul, police said. They also found the bullet-riddled body of a man in the northern city. Gianni Magazzeni, the chief of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq in Baghdad, said 34,452 civilians were killed — an average of 94 per day — and 36,685 were wounded last year in sectarian violence. The Iraqi Health Ministry did not comment on the UN report, which was based on information released by the Iraqi government and hospitals. The government has disputed previous figures released by the UN as “inaccurate and exaggerated.” Iraqi government figures announced in early January put last year’s civilian death toll at 12,357. Magazzeni said the UN figures were compiled from information obtained through the Iraqi Health Ministry, hospitals across the country and the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad. He also criticized the government, saying urgent action was needed to re-establish law and order in the country. “Without significant progress in the rule of law sectarian violence will continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of control,” he warned. The UN report also said that 30,842 people were detained in the country as of Dec 31, including 14,534 in detention facilities run by US-led multinational forces. It pointed to killings targeting police, who are seen by insurgents as collaborating with the US effort in Iraq. The report said the Interior Ministry had reported on Dec. 24 that 12,000 police officers had been killed since the war started in 2003. The report also painted a grim picture for other sectors of Iraqi society, saying the violence has disrupted education by forcing schools and universities to close as well as sending professionals fleeing from the country. At least 470,094 people throughout Iraq have been forced to leave their homes since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra. In Monday’s execution, a thickset Barzan Ibrahim plunged through the trap door and was beheaded by the jerk of the thick rope at the end of his fall, in the same execution chamber where Saddam was hanged a little over two weeks earlier. Dozens of people, mostly schoolchildren, read Quranic verses at the graves in Tikrit as mourning continued for Ibrahim, Saddam’s half brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court under Saddam. Some 150 youths also staged a demonstration in Saddam’s hometown, 80 miles north of Baghdad, chanting “down with the pro-Iranian government” and “glory to Barzan,” but it was calmer than the day before when at least 3,000 angry Sunnis assembled for the burials in nearby Ouja..A government video of the hanging, played for reporters, showed Ibrahim’s body passing the camera in a blur. The body came to rest on its chest while the severed head lay a few yards away, still wearing the black hood pulled on moments before by one of the five masked executioners. Crisis The United Nations warned on Tuesday of a “looming crisis” in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk where it said ethnic Turkmen and Arabs were being intimidated by Kurdish forces. Sitting atop one of the world’s richest oil fields and just outside the borders of the largely autonomous Kurdistan region, Kirkuk could become a regional flash-point, a UN report said. Events in the area are already closely watched by neighbouring countries such as Turkey, which has historic links to the Turkmen and is deeply suspicious of Kurdish ambitions. Kurds want to annex the city for their capital and Iraq’s new constitution mandates a local referendum on the issue later this year. Under Saddam Hussein, Kirkuk was subject to an “Arabisation” policy that drove many Kurds from their homes and brought in Arabs, mostly Shi’ite Muslims from the south. Since the US invasion of 2003, many Kurds have returned and Turkmen and Arabs in the city now complain of “ethnic cleansing”. The Iraq Study Group, which reported to US President George W. Bush last month, said there was a “great risk” of the referendum sparking further violence in Kirkuk. In its bi-monthly human rights report on Iraq, the United Nations said the deterioration of the situation in Kirkuk was a major concern, particularly the rights of Arabs and Turkmen, which it called “minorities” although census data is disputed. “They face increasing threats, intimidations and detentions, often in KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) facilities run by Kurdish intelligence and security forces,” the report said. “Such violations may well be the prelude of a looming crisis in Kirkuk in the coming months,” it said. The report cited arbitrary detentions by security forces and by Kurdish militias, and said ethnic groups have started moving closer to their own communities for protection. Turkey fears the Iraqi Kurds will turn Kirkuk into the capital of a new independent Kurdish state, which could reignite separatism among the Kurds of southeast Turkey. Last week Turkey said it could not stand idly by if Kurds seize control of Kirkuk, although analysts say military intervention by Turkey, a Nato ally of the United States, is unlikely. But, Ankara could increase diplomatic and commercial pressure since Turkish territory provides crucial land routes for potential Iraqi oil exports to the West. The UN report warned that violence was also rising in Mosul, another city near Kurdistan where Kurds and Arabs live in uneasy coexistence. It said 40 civilian and police deaths were reported each week on average recently.