A rchive Date
[ 08-07-2005 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Egypt ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/07/07/1121742-ap.html
Egypt bails after envoy slain
July 7, 2005
BAGHDAD (CP) - Egypt will close its mission in Baghdad and withdraw its staff after al-Qaida's wing in Iraq said it had killed an abducted top Egyptian envoy, an Iraqi official said Thursday. The group warned it would go after "as many ambassadors as we can" to punish countries that support Iraq's U.S.-backed leadership.
Iraq's chief government spokesman said the killing and Thursday's bombings in London show terrorism "is not only targeting Iraqis but everyone."
The announcement from Iraq's most feared terror group appeared on an al-Qaida-linked website and featured a brief video showing blindfolded Egyptian diplomat, Ihab al-Sherif, wearing a polo shirt. The video did not show his death but the statement promised more details later.
"We announce in the name of 'al-Qaida in Iraq' that the verdict of God against the ambassador of the infidels, the ambassador of Egypt, has been carried out. Thank God," a written statement in posting said, adding: "Iraq is no longer safe for the infidels."
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry offered condolences for the "assassination" and an Egyptian diplomat who spoke in Cairo said the government is sure al-Sherif is dead "from our own means."
He spoke on condition of anonymity and did not elaborate.
Saad Mohammed Ridha, head of Iraq's diplomatic mission in Cairo, said Egypt's Foreign Ministry told him late Thursday the Egytian mission in Baghdad will close temporarily and the staff is being recalled.
"We are very sorry about this decision," Ridha said.
"We are as sad as they are. It (al-Sherif's killing) was a horrible act."
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew condemned the killing of al-Sherif, calling it a "heinous act." " . . . Mr. el-Sherif was a friend of Canada and a well-respected diplomat. His passing is a great loss to both Egypt and the Arab world," Pettigrew said in a statement.
News of the killing marked a dramatic escalation in a campaign to discourage Arab and Muslim governments from sending ambassadors and strengthening ties with Iraq, as Washington wants. Last month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced Egypt would be the first Arab country to upgrade its diplomatic representation by appointing a full-fledged ambassador.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak insisted his country will continue to support Iraq. "This terrorist act will not deter Egypt from its firm position in support of Iraq and its people," the statement said. Al-Sherif "lost his life at the hands of terrorism that trades in Islam but knows no nation and no religion."
Al-Sherif, 51, was seized Saturday in Baghdad. Three days later, gunmen fired on senior envoys from Pakistan and Bahrain, two Muslim countries with close ties to the United States, in apparent kidnapping attempts.
In its latest statement, al-Qaida said it did not announce al-Sherif's kidnapping until after the subsequent attacks "to be able to capture as many ambassadors as we can."
In Najaf, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, called for a "war of annihilation" against al-Qaida and other groups that include foreign Islamic extremists.
"They have declared a war of annihilation against Iraqis, Shiites and Kurds, as well as Sunni Arabs who don't agree with their acts," he said.
"Let us launch a war of annihilation against foreign criminals who came from abroad to fight the Iraqi people."
Iraqi officials, meanwhile, sought to assure foreign governments their diplomats would be safe. Officials said al-Sherif, a former deputy ambassador to Israel, was grabbed in a dangerous neighbourhood while travelling without armed escorts.
"All Arab and Muslim states are invited to prove their seriousness in fighting terrorism by sending their ambassadors, which is a message in itself to show their keenness to in fighting terrorism," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
At the United Nations in New York, Egypt's ambassador asked the Security Council on Thursday to urgently address the issue of protecting diplomats in Iraq. Maged Abdelaziz said the Security Council should address the issue "in a manner which would secure the lives of those diplomats, not only of Egypt but of other countries who have been subject to such brutal attacks in the past few days."
The UN lost an envoy in Iraq in August 2003, when a bomb ripped through the world body's headquarters in Baghdad. The UN withdrew from Iraq following the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello and 22 others, citing security concerns but has returned though in far smaller numbers.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry website said there are 46 foreign missions in Iraq, including 14 from predominantly Arab or Muslim countries. The numbers include Egypt. The United States has been urging Arab states to upgrade their missions as a sign Iraq's government, dominated by Shiite Muslims and Kurds who are a minority in the Arab world, has won acceptance by its neighbours.
Seeking to bolster public confidence, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said Thursday nearly 1,700 suspected insurgents have been detained and 41 killed in skirmishes during the six-week long Operation Lightning in Baghdad. About 1,000 terror suspects remain in custody, including four Sudanese, three Palestinians, two Egyptians, two Jordanians and one Syrian, he said.
Such assurances and appeals for diplomatic solidarity are unlikely to assuage fears within the diplomatic community, already hunkered down behind blast walls, concertina wire and armed guards.
At least 1,465 people have been killed in insurgent attacks since the new government was announced April 28.
In violence Thursday:
-Six civilians were killed and 24 wounded in mortar attacks against police stations in Mosul, the U.S. military said.
-Police in Tikrit opened fire on 1,000 demonstrators as they protested against the killing of the local council's head official. At least four people were injured, officials said.
-Gunmen killed two Shiite clerics in Baghdad, police said.
-Five decapitated bodies were found on the road between Rawah and Ramadi in northwestern Iraq, police reported.
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