Troops shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian who approached the security fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip, the IDF said Thursday. After dark on Wednesday, the Palestinian approached a no-man's zone along the fence where militants frequently try to carry out attacks. Soldiers opened fire and killed him, then discovered when they examined the body at daybreak that he was unarmed, the IDF said. Palestinian officials identified the dead man as 21-year-old Salem Abu Saada.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday called an upcoming US-hosted conference on the Middle East "stillborn," and predicted it would not bring any benefits to the Palestinians. "We realize that this conference was stillborn and is not going to achieve for the Palestinian people any of its goals or any of the political and legal rights due to them," Haniyeh said outside the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
A ton of explosives behind a school
Egyptian police discovered a ton of explosives hidden in an underground cache on the border with the Gaza Strip during a search for smuggling tunnels, a security official said Thursday.
The cache was discovered behind a school in the sparsely populated Ahrash region near the border town of Rafah, the official added on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. "In the past eight months we have found 186 tons of explosives," said Mubarak on Tuesday in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The cache was discovered behind a school in the sparsely populated Ahrash region near the border town of Rafah, the official added on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. "In the past eight months we have found 186 tons of explosives," said Mubarak on Tuesday in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
And stop calling communication for: "a photo op "!
Is it all that you are? A photo op ? Is it that all you have to say is? A photo op ? Is it all that you have to contribute with and supply to the rest of the world? A photo op ?
Is it all that you see in here? A "photo op" ? So we have identified us with a "photo op" now have we?
Is it that what we are? A "photo op" ?
We do not want to hear another word of the mantra: "a photo op" !
Or we can fix it in here..as you see! Just let us know..and we put a paper bag over your head!
Is it all that you see in here? A "photo op" ? So we have identified us with a "photo op" now have we?
Is it that what we are? A "photo op" ?
We do not want to hear another word of the mantra: "a photo op" !
Why don´t you take a paper bag over your head if you don´t want to be on pictures? Or you might not have that much to say?
Or we can fix it in here..as you see! Just let us know..and we put a paper bag over your head!
Oxfam warned Wednesday of an increasing risk to public health in Gaza
Palestinian children hold Palestinian flags and signs in Arabic and English in front of the Parliament building in Gaza City, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. The international aid group Oxfam warned Wednesday of an increasing risk to public health in Gaza due to reduction in fuel supplies. About 225,000 people in Gaza do not receive adequate amounts of drinking water because water pumps are not operating at full capacity, Oxfam said in a statement.
Meawhile, Hamas have had millions of dollars from Qatar and Iran..
Meawhile, Hamas have had millions of dollars from Qatar and Iran..
No one will be condemned ..Hey! We are working hard here! The only ones to condemn are those working against solutions!
Israel and the Palestinian Authority received official invitations to the Annapolis peace conference Tuesday, just one week ahead of its anticipated date. Both sides said they would attend despite ongoing concerns about the wide gaps in the positions of the two sides and a lack of clarity about how the conference would resolve them.
Invitations to over 40 other countries and organizations, including Syria and Saudi Arabia, were expected to be given out by the United States, which is hosting the meeting. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said US diplomats had issued the equivalent of a "save-the-date" notice to a long list of invitees. "We have had informal contacts with many of the invitees, so they are aware of the dates and many of the logistical arrangements so they can make their plans," McCormack said. Those contacts over recent days were notified "that an invitation will be forthcoming in the not-too-distant future," he said.
The parley is set to begin with a dinner in Washington on November 26, while the formal meeting will be held on November 27, with follow-up sessions scheduled the next day. Though the bulk of the conference will be held at the foreign minister level, US President George W. Bush, who signed the invitations, is expected to also hold a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The invitation came as PA officials continued to voice pessimism over the prospects of the conference. They said the PA would participate in the conference despite the growing skepticism, using the platform at Annapolis to reiterate their known positions.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak phoned Abbas to reassure him about the conference, PA officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post. Rice also spoke by telephone to Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Abbas told reporters in Ramallah that his talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday had been "difficult." However, he expressed hope that the two parties would find a way to narrow the gap between them. Nimer Hammad, political advisor to Abbas, said it would be a "miracle" if the two sides reached an agreement on a joint statement at Annapolis. "Going to the conference without a document means we are going empty-handed," he told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency. "This means there's a big problem here." Hammad blamed Israel for the failure of the two parties to reach an agreement on a joint declaration of principles. "Israel remains opposed to ending the 1967 occupation," he said. "But we will go to the conference to present our positions regarding our rights and the final-status issues. We want to show the world which party is not interested in peace. We won't allow the Israelis this time to drag us into a situation where we will be condemned by the rest of the world."
Other leaders also spoke about the upcoming conference Tuesday. Bush personally discussed the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call earlier in the day. The State Department said preparations for the conference and details about the participation of the involved parties were falling into place, despite a lack of a published guest list, agenda or other details just a week before its scheduled date. "The preparations for the conference are coming together. We are confident that we will get to Annapolis in good shape," McCormack said. "The parties will get to Annapolis in good shape, prepared to accomplish what it is that they set out for themselves."
Herb Keinon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
We hear o lot of voices from different directions. We can not expect the Palestinian government to be fully fit as a government that have worked and functioning in stable conditions for a longer while. We can not expect the Palestinian authority to have fully implement and organize security issues. We have to stand by and support the Palestinian authority in several aspects. On the other hand the Palestinian negotiators, ministers and government need to show more flexibility when it comes to Jerusalem old city and holy sites. You will not contribute or achieve peace with demanding the Israelis to give up their identity and heritage! There have to be a equal and common responsibility for both Palestinian and Israeli heritage of this sites! It´s not a vacation! It´s a responsibility! If you are not ready or mature enough to take that responsibility we suggests you get some authority that can!
So if you want a joint document..you can start with to recognize each others connection to Jerusalem and holy sites and the equal responsibility for your common heritage to the future and coming generations!
You are not here to grab as much as you can of the "cake"! You are here to take your common responsibility towards coming generations for your heritage and security! That´s yours core issue!
This is not a play house! This is deadly serious! The only ones to condemn are those working against solutions! And that applies to anyone trying to do that!
Period!
Invitations to over 40 other countries and organizations, including Syria and Saudi Arabia, were expected to be given out by the United States, which is hosting the meeting. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said US diplomats had issued the equivalent of a "save-the-date" notice to a long list of invitees. "We have had informal contacts with many of the invitees, so they are aware of the dates and many of the logistical arrangements so they can make their plans," McCormack said. Those contacts over recent days were notified "that an invitation will be forthcoming in the not-too-distant future," he said.
The parley is set to begin with a dinner in Washington on November 26, while the formal meeting will be held on November 27, with follow-up sessions scheduled the next day. Though the bulk of the conference will be held at the foreign minister level, US President George W. Bush, who signed the invitations, is expected to also hold a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The invitation came as PA officials continued to voice pessimism over the prospects of the conference. They said the PA would participate in the conference despite the growing skepticism, using the platform at Annapolis to reiterate their known positions.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak phoned Abbas to reassure him about the conference, PA officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post. Rice also spoke by telephone to Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Abbas told reporters in Ramallah that his talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday had been "difficult." However, he expressed hope that the two parties would find a way to narrow the gap between them. Nimer Hammad, political advisor to Abbas, said it would be a "miracle" if the two sides reached an agreement on a joint statement at Annapolis. "Going to the conference without a document means we are going empty-handed," he told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency. "This means there's a big problem here." Hammad blamed Israel for the failure of the two parties to reach an agreement on a joint declaration of principles. "Israel remains opposed to ending the 1967 occupation," he said. "But we will go to the conference to present our positions regarding our rights and the final-status issues. We want to show the world which party is not interested in peace. We won't allow the Israelis this time to drag us into a situation where we will be condemned by the rest of the world."
Other leaders also spoke about the upcoming conference Tuesday. Bush personally discussed the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call earlier in the day. The State Department said preparations for the conference and details about the participation of the involved parties were falling into place, despite a lack of a published guest list, agenda or other details just a week before its scheduled date. "The preparations for the conference are coming together. We are confident that we will get to Annapolis in good shape," McCormack said. "The parties will get to Annapolis in good shape, prepared to accomplish what it is that they set out for themselves."
Herb Keinon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
We hear o lot of voices from different directions. We can not expect the Palestinian government to be fully fit as a government that have worked and functioning in stable conditions for a longer while. We can not expect the Palestinian authority to have fully implement and organize security issues. We have to stand by and support the Palestinian authority in several aspects. On the other hand the Palestinian negotiators, ministers and government need to show more flexibility when it comes to Jerusalem old city and holy sites. You will not contribute or achieve peace with demanding the Israelis to give up their identity and heritage! There have to be a equal and common responsibility for both Palestinian and Israeli heritage of this sites! It´s not a vacation! It´s a responsibility! If you are not ready or mature enough to take that responsibility we suggests you get some authority that can!
We will not physically divide Jerusalem with Palestinians at one side and Israelis at the other living on different planets! That´s not peace! That´s a kindergarten!
The whole meaning with peace is to recognize each other and to be able to take common responsibility for the future and coming generations! And that´s not a vacation- that´s responsibility! And it includes to recognize each others connection to Jerusalem and holy sites in that peace and responsibility!So if you want a joint document..you can start with to recognize each others connection to Jerusalem and holy sites and the equal responsibility for your common heritage to the future and coming generations!
You are not here to grab as much as you can of the "cake"! You are here to take your common responsibility towards coming generations for your heritage and security! That´s yours core issue!
This is not a play house! This is deadly serious! The only ones to condemn are those working against solutions! And that applies to anyone trying to do that!
Period!
"Resistance" against solutions, agreements and Peace..And by that violating human rights against both Israelis and Palestinians!
Zaka and the Sderot Municipality are taking Hamas's political leader Khaled Mashaal to the International Court of Justice in the Hague for crimes against humanity, Zaka reported Wednesday.
Zaka head Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal seek to hold Mashaal, currently exiled in Syria, responsible for killing and wounding innocent civilians in Kassam rocket attacks. In the lawsuit, prepared by Atty. Nick Kaufman of the State Prosecutor's Office, Meshi-Zahav and Moyal detail rocket attacks on the southern city launched from the Gaza Strip, as well as Mashaal's many incendiary anti-Israel statements to Hamas supporters.
While the Zaka/Sderot lawsuit pinpoints Hamas, other Palestinian terror groups - including the Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs' Brigades and its offshoots and the Islamic Jihad - also launch rocket attacks.
"Resistance" against solutions, agreements and Peace..And by that violating human rights against both Israelis and Palestinians! That´s it.. nothing else! And it´s a violation from those that supports it and use it for own gains as well. And it´s not legitimized! It´s not legitimized to work against solutions and peace! Not in any circumstances in any community!
Zaka head Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal seek to hold Mashaal, currently exiled in Syria, responsible for killing and wounding innocent civilians in Kassam rocket attacks. In the lawsuit, prepared by Atty. Nick Kaufman of the State Prosecutor's Office, Meshi-Zahav and Moyal detail rocket attacks on the southern city launched from the Gaza Strip, as well as Mashaal's many incendiary anti-Israel statements to Hamas supporters.
While the Zaka/Sderot lawsuit pinpoints Hamas, other Palestinian terror groups - including the Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs' Brigades and its offshoots and the Islamic Jihad - also launch rocket attacks.
"Resistance" against solutions, agreements and Peace..And by that violating human rights against both Israelis and Palestinians! That´s it.. nothing else! And it´s a violation from those that supports it and use it for own gains as well. And it´s not legitimized! It´s not legitimized to work against solutions and peace! Not in any circumstances in any community!
Israel will allow strawberry and flower exports from the Gaza Strip to resume
Palestinian farmers had to dispose of their flower crop due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, preventing them to export their goods. In another show of support for the Palestinians, Israel will allow strawberry and flower exports from the Gaza Strip to resume, in the hopes of improving the economic situation for the 1.5 million Palestinians living there, Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon said Wednesday. Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday received long-awaited invitations to a U.S. conference, where they are expected to relaunch formal negotiations on a final peace agreement. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that a peace deal with the Palestinians was possible as early as next year.
A Hamas spokesman, Sami Au Zuhri, said the Israeli decision proved Abbas was working "hand in hand with the occupation against Palestinian resistance." "Hamas will remain committed to fight against the occupation and will not give up," Abu Zuhri said.
U.N. panel raps nations for rights abuses
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations panel rebuked Myanmar, Iran and North Korea on Tuesday for human rights abuses, overcoming objections by developing nations that the move amounted to "demonization" of some states.
The resolution on North Korea expressing concern about systematic and widespread rights violations won the strongest support in the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee, passing by 97-23, with 60 abstentions. Another resolution strongly condemning the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was passed by 88-24, with 66 abstentions, in what Britain said was "a declaration of support for the Burmese people's desire for change." A third vote expressing deep concern at rights violations in Iran was passed by 72-50, with 55 abstentions.
The non-binding resolutions will be sent to the 192-member General Assembly, which generally votes in the same way as the committee. The representative from Uganda was among several members of the Non-Aligned Movement, which groups 115 mostly developing nations, who argued against singling out some states. He said such issues were best left to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council and should be addressed through dialogue rather than what he called the "demonization" of some countries. Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee condemned the resolutions as "manipulation and abuse of the United Nations human rights mechanism," and slammed Canada, which introduced the resolution on Iran, over its own rights record. He accused Canada of discriminatory policies against minorities, immigrants and indigenous peoples. He also criticized the United States for abuses at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and at the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. "In Iran's view, human rights cannot be claimed to be a monopoly of any single culture and society," Khazaee said in a speech to the committee. Western countries welcomed the votes. "These resolutions send a strong signal from the international community to the governments of those countries that their failure to uphold the rights and fundamental freedoms of their citizens is unacceptable, and must end," said British Ambassador John Sawers. The committee is expected to vote on a similar resolution on human rights in Belarus on Wednesday.
By Claudia Parsons
The resolution on North Korea expressing concern about systematic and widespread rights violations won the strongest support in the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee, passing by 97-23, with 60 abstentions. Another resolution strongly condemning the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was passed by 88-24, with 66 abstentions, in what Britain said was "a declaration of support for the Burmese people's desire for change." A third vote expressing deep concern at rights violations in Iran was passed by 72-50, with 55 abstentions.
The non-binding resolutions will be sent to the 192-member General Assembly, which generally votes in the same way as the committee. The representative from Uganda was among several members of the Non-Aligned Movement, which groups 115 mostly developing nations, who argued against singling out some states. He said such issues were best left to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council and should be addressed through dialogue rather than what he called the "demonization" of some countries. Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee condemned the resolutions as "manipulation and abuse of the United Nations human rights mechanism," and slammed Canada, which introduced the resolution on Iran, over its own rights record. He accused Canada of discriminatory policies against minorities, immigrants and indigenous peoples. He also criticized the United States for abuses at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and at the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. "In Iran's view, human rights cannot be claimed to be a monopoly of any single culture and society," Khazaee said in a speech to the committee. Western countries welcomed the votes. "These resolutions send a strong signal from the international community to the governments of those countries that their failure to uphold the rights and fundamental freedoms of their citizens is unacceptable, and must end," said British Ambassador John Sawers. The committee is expected to vote on a similar resolution on human rights in Belarus on Wednesday.
By Claudia Parsons
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Jerusalem..
Yeah...Why don´t you just type Jerusalem in the upper left corner: Search blog ..And there is a archive..
Sudan
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Sudanese government and former southern rebels on Monday to stand by a peace agreement that ended two decades of war and warned against talk of rearming.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) pulled its ministers out of the coalition government last month, accusing Khartoum of stalling on the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Africa's longest civil war. On Sunday, the SPLM accused President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of "threatening and calling for war" in a speech he gave in honor of a government-allied militia charged with a string of atrocities. Pagan Amum, Secretary-General of the SPLM, said he deplored the comments by Bashir at celebrations organized by the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) militia on Saturday. In his televised speech, Bashir called on the PDF "to open training camps and to gather mujahideen not for the sake of war but to be ready for anything," without giving details of their purpose.
Asked about Bashir's comments on rearming, Ban urged all parties to implement the peace agreement faithfully. "It is not desirable for the parties concerned in the Darfur situation, particularly parties to the CPA, to make such kind of unilateral statement," Ban told reporters. "I hope again that the parties concerned should make a faithful implementation of the peace agreement)," he said. African Union and UN-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the separate civil war in the west of the country between Khartoum and Darfuri rebels have fizzled out after most insurgent groups boycotted them.
AU and UN mediators met Darfuri rebel groups in Juba in southern Sudan on Monday to try to encourage them to unify their positions ahead of direct negotiations with the government, Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said. Ban said he was in talks with industrialized countries in a bid to secure critical helicopters and trucks needed for a 26,000-strong U.N./African Union peacekeeping force due to start operating in Darfur at the start of next year. Sudan has resisted non-African participation in the hybrid force in what Western countries see as a delaying tactic to hold up deployment of the force, which is due to replace a hard-pressed African Union force already on the ground. Ban said he hoped to resolve the issues of the composition of the force so it could deploy as planned.
By Claudia Parsons,Editing by Stuart Grudgings
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) pulled its ministers out of the coalition government last month, accusing Khartoum of stalling on the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Africa's longest civil war. On Sunday, the SPLM accused President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of "threatening and calling for war" in a speech he gave in honor of a government-allied militia charged with a string of atrocities. Pagan Amum, Secretary-General of the SPLM, said he deplored the comments by Bashir at celebrations organized by the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) militia on Saturday. In his televised speech, Bashir called on the PDF "to open training camps and to gather mujahideen not for the sake of war but to be ready for anything," without giving details of their purpose.
Asked about Bashir's comments on rearming, Ban urged all parties to implement the peace agreement faithfully. "It is not desirable for the parties concerned in the Darfur situation, particularly parties to the CPA, to make such kind of unilateral statement," Ban told reporters. "I hope again that the parties concerned should make a faithful implementation of the peace agreement)," he said. African Union and UN-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the separate civil war in the west of the country between Khartoum and Darfuri rebels have fizzled out after most insurgent groups boycotted them.
AU and UN mediators met Darfuri rebel groups in Juba in southern Sudan on Monday to try to encourage them to unify their positions ahead of direct negotiations with the government, Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said. Ban said he was in talks with industrialized countries in a bid to secure critical helicopters and trucks needed for a 26,000-strong U.N./African Union peacekeeping force due to start operating in Darfur at the start of next year. Sudan has resisted non-African participation in the hybrid force in what Western countries see as a delaying tactic to hold up deployment of the force, which is due to replace a hard-pressed African Union force already on the ground. Ban said he hoped to resolve the issues of the composition of the force so it could deploy as planned.
By Claudia Parsons,Editing by Stuart Grudgings
Stand up for yourselves..
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi military on Tuesday took a hard stance against 33 foreigners and 10 Iraqis detained after a shooting involving their convoy run by a U.S.-contracted firm in Baghdad, saying they were accused of opening fire randomly and wounding an Iraqi woman.
The U.S. military said that the convoy belonged to Almco Group, an Iraqi-run company that has contracts with U.S.-led forces, but that it was unclear if those detained were operating under the auspices of those contracts or others when the shooting occurred Monday. "We are steadfastly against any security company that behaves recklessly when it comes to the lives of Iraqis or the violation of Iraqi laws," said Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad.
Monday's incident follows a series of recent shootings in which foreign security guards allegedly have killed Iraqis. Last month, the Iraqi Cabinet sent parliament a bill to lift immunity for foreign private security companies that has been in effect since the U.S. occupation began in 2003. Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Almco, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has contracts with U.S.-led forces to provide food, water and other life support functions to military transition teams, as well as the construction of a justice compound. But he said it was not yet determined whether those detained were working on those contracts at the time of the incident. "They may have been working for another contract at the time that they were detained," Leighton said. Almco officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Al-Moussawi said the convoy was driving on the wrong side of the road in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah when the woman was wounded in a shooting that took place about midday. He said four vehicles were seized including "an armored Ford, an armored Mercedes, an armored Landcruiser and a Scania truck" along with four PKC machine guns, eight Kalashnikov rifles and three pistols. He said those arrested included two Fijians with American nationalities, along with 21 people from Sri Lanka, nine from Nepal, 10 Iraqis and one Indian. They face charges including traveling no the wrong side of the road in a four-vehicle convoy, firing randomly and trying to kill a female citizen.
Leighton denied any Americans were involved, saying the two Fijians held identification cards issued by the U.S. Department of Defense. He said the detainees were being held at an Iraqi army headquarters and coalition forces were dispatched to stay with them to ensure they receive proper treatment. Leighton confirmed a woman was wounded in a shooting involving the convoy, but he declined to give more details, saying the circumstances were still under investigation. The role of private security guards has become particularly controversial following a Sept. 16 shooting in which Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians at Baghdad's Nisoor Square.
The FBI is continuing its investigation into the shootings, although the Iraqi government has concluded that the security guards were unprovoked when the began shooting at an intersection at Nisoor Square in western Baghdad. The North Carolina-based company, the largest private security firm protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, has said its security convoy was under attack before it opened fire. The Iraqi Cabinet's initiative to lift immunity for private security companies would not be retroactive and therefore not affect the Blackwater employees who were involved in the Sept. 16 shooting. Parliament has yet to act on the measure. "After the Nisoor Square incident, orders were issued to all security sectors of Baghdad ... that they should not be lenient with those who break the law or encroach upon people," al-Moussawi said. "The swift procedure yesterday was a legal one. We will not allow any security company to disrespect the people's blood, assault them or break the laws."
Leighton said Almco was not conducting personal security activities for the U.S., although its construction contract did specify that the company should provide all required security for transportation and shipment of personnel and equipment. Almco provides services ranging from dining facilities to water treatment and fuel supply for about 17,000 people in military camps and various companies across Iraq, according to the company's Web site. A top U.S. commander, meanwhile, said violence in northern Iraq has declined at a slower rate than it has in other regions, as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere. As a result, the north is now more violent than other regions. Most of the 27 U.S. deaths this month were north of Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who commands U.S. troops in the region, said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north. "What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," he told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Tikrit. "The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks." He said 900 roadside bombs were placed in his region last month, compared with 1,830 in June.
By BUSHRA JUHI/Reuters
We have a problem...And we know there are people working to solve this issue with suppliers, beneath suppliers and beneath-beneath suppliers. Or which the suppliers really are. In the mean time there must be laws and regulations for contract workers, security companies! We do not want more problem and suffering in Iraq. Or some "social workers" making sure they will have work, establishing their own "market" to ensure work opportunity´s, in their own sector, like some "Parkinson´s law"! Well..One maybe shouldn´t generalize..we are sure many contract workers doing a very good job, but as in every other circumstances there are always some ones that are the wrong persons at the wrong place, and we have no room for that in Iraq!
The U.S. military said that the convoy belonged to Almco Group, an Iraqi-run company that has contracts with U.S.-led forces, but that it was unclear if those detained were operating under the auspices of those contracts or others when the shooting occurred Monday. "We are steadfastly against any security company that behaves recklessly when it comes to the lives of Iraqis or the violation of Iraqi laws," said Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad.
Monday's incident follows a series of recent shootings in which foreign security guards allegedly have killed Iraqis. Last month, the Iraqi Cabinet sent parliament a bill to lift immunity for foreign private security companies that has been in effect since the U.S. occupation began in 2003. Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Almco, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has contracts with U.S.-led forces to provide food, water and other life support functions to military transition teams, as well as the construction of a justice compound. But he said it was not yet determined whether those detained were working on those contracts at the time of the incident. "They may have been working for another contract at the time that they were detained," Leighton said. Almco officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Al-Moussawi said the convoy was driving on the wrong side of the road in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah when the woman was wounded in a shooting that took place about midday. He said four vehicles were seized including "an armored Ford, an armored Mercedes, an armored Landcruiser and a Scania truck" along with four PKC machine guns, eight Kalashnikov rifles and three pistols. He said those arrested included two Fijians with American nationalities, along with 21 people from Sri Lanka, nine from Nepal, 10 Iraqis and one Indian. They face charges including traveling no the wrong side of the road in a four-vehicle convoy, firing randomly and trying to kill a female citizen.
Leighton denied any Americans were involved, saying the two Fijians held identification cards issued by the U.S. Department of Defense. He said the detainees were being held at an Iraqi army headquarters and coalition forces were dispatched to stay with them to ensure they receive proper treatment. Leighton confirmed a woman was wounded in a shooting involving the convoy, but he declined to give more details, saying the circumstances were still under investigation. The role of private security guards has become particularly controversial following a Sept. 16 shooting in which Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians at Baghdad's Nisoor Square.
The FBI is continuing its investigation into the shootings, although the Iraqi government has concluded that the security guards were unprovoked when the began shooting at an intersection at Nisoor Square in western Baghdad. The North Carolina-based company, the largest private security firm protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, has said its security convoy was under attack before it opened fire. The Iraqi Cabinet's initiative to lift immunity for private security companies would not be retroactive and therefore not affect the Blackwater employees who were involved in the Sept. 16 shooting. Parliament has yet to act on the measure. "After the Nisoor Square incident, orders were issued to all security sectors of Baghdad ... that they should not be lenient with those who break the law or encroach upon people," al-Moussawi said. "The swift procedure yesterday was a legal one. We will not allow any security company to disrespect the people's blood, assault them or break the laws."
Leighton said Almco was not conducting personal security activities for the U.S., although its construction contract did specify that the company should provide all required security for transportation and shipment of personnel and equipment. Almco provides services ranging from dining facilities to water treatment and fuel supply for about 17,000 people in military camps and various companies across Iraq, according to the company's Web site. A top U.S. commander, meanwhile, said violence in northern Iraq has declined at a slower rate than it has in other regions, as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere. As a result, the north is now more violent than other regions. Most of the 27 U.S. deaths this month were north of Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who commands U.S. troops in the region, said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north. "What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," he told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Tikrit. "The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks." He said 900 roadside bombs were placed in his region last month, compared with 1,830 in June.
By BUSHRA JUHI/Reuters
We have a problem...And we know there are people working to solve this issue with suppliers, beneath suppliers and beneath-beneath suppliers. Or which the suppliers really are. In the mean time there must be laws and regulations for contract workers, security companies! We do not want more problem and suffering in Iraq. Or some "social workers" making sure they will have work, establishing their own "market" to ensure work opportunity´s, in their own sector, like some "Parkinson´s law"! Well..One maybe shouldn´t generalize..we are sure many contract workers doing a very good job, but as in every other circumstances there are always some ones that are the wrong persons at the wrong place, and we have no room for that in Iraq!
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