Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005
Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005 |
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By Atul Aneja
MANAMA, JAN. 18. Iraq has announced that it would close all its land borders in the wake of the controversial January 30 elections. Iraqi officials said the land borders would be sealed for three days from January 29. Only pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia would be allowed to cross the border. Three days of holidays have also been declared during this period. The order allows only those vehicles with official permit to travel. Curfews would be imposed for longer durations. There have been fresh attempts to raise sectarian tensions in Iraq, which has over 60 per cent of Shias and an estimated 25 per cent Sunnis, apart from Kurds, Turkomans and Christians. A car bomb exploded outside the offices of a Shia party, which is one of the main contenders in the elections. At least two persons were killed and two injured in the attack on the office of the pro-Iran Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SCIRI). The SCIRI leaders described the attacks as provocations to generate a sectarian conflict with the minority Sunni community. Unlike the Shia parties, which are expecting to do well in the polls, many Sunni organisations are boycotting the elections. Archbishop freed Kidnappers have released the Catholic bishop of Mosul on Tuesday. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa was freed day after he was abducted in the northern city. Militants who had kidnapped eight Chinese nationals threatened to kill them within 48 hours, if China failed to explain their presence in Iraq.
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