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| Iraq |
| Al-Maliki declares state of emergency in Basra |
| 2006-06-01 |
| Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday declared a month-long state of emergency in Basra after sectarian tension increased in Iraq's second-largest city. In a speech broadcast by Iraqi television al Iraqiya, al-Maliki said the cabinet would use an "iron fist" against "criminal gangs" he accused of holding the city's oil exports to ransom. During his visit to Basra on Wednesday, al-Maliki also denounced a wave of killings and kidnappings that Sunni religious leaders have blamed on Shiite death squads. Basra has registered growing tensions among Shiite groups vying for political power and control over the area's vast oil wealth. A Shiite faction has moreover threatened to sabotage oil exports through Basra to exercise pressure on the Iraqi government. Addressing some 700 tribal sheiks, religious leaders, officials, army officers and other residents in Basra on Wednesday, the premier also said the government will "ask all security departments to draw up an effective and quick plan to achieve security." Al-Maliki's comments came as a new Pentagon report indicated that Sunni insurgent strength should remain steady this year, though it warned about increasing threats from al-Qaeda in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |