* Chronology of Events in , August 2003

August 2 Iraqi police team up with Shiite leaders to crack down on street vendors. (Agence France Presse / AFP) Iraqi police in the Shiite Muslim city of teamed up with religious leaders to crack down on street vendors around the revered shrine of Imam Hussein. A Shiite cleric in a police car, accompanied by two other police cars and a van full of armed men, urged the people of Karbala by loudspeaker to join the crackdown. According to one policeman, street vendors have moved into the road leading to the Imam Hussein's mausoleum, selling, among other thing, weapons, ammunition, pornographic videos, alcohol and drugs. US forces arrest Kurdish Islamic Movement figures. (Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Khabat) It was reported that the Guide of the Islamic Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan, Mala Ali Abd-al-Aziz, his brother Mala Umar and a number of their bodyguards were arrested by the US coalition forces at his home in Halabjah. AFP report on the same news on August 19: U.S. forces have released the leader of the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan. Shaykh Ali Abd al-Aziz was freed after two weeks in detention. Assassination attempt on Syrian Muslim Brotherhood official in Iraq. (Iran- based radio station Voice of the Mujahidin) Syrian Muslim Brotherhood said that one of its leaders was the target of an assassination attempt in Iraq, where he lives as a political refugee. It was reported that Riyad al-Shaqfah, the most senior Muslim Brotherhood official living in Iraq, was the target of an assassination attempt while he was returning home in . In the incident, a speedy vehicle came passed Al-Shaqfah's car and fired a hail of bullets at him. Uday and Qusay Hussain buried near . (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty RFE/RL Iraq Report) The bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussain were buried near Tikrit. Tribesmen buried the brothers, along with Qusay's son Mustafa, in Saddam Hussain's birthplace of Al-Awjah. Some 40 tribesmen attended the service. Tribal leaders had requested permission to bury the men.

* Disclaimer: Reports contained in this document are selected from publicly available resources and edited by country experts. The information provided here is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country of origin surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim. Further information may be obtained from BO Ankara.

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August 3 Iraqis in said to take revenge on "traitor" for deaths of Saddam's sons. (Egyptian news agency Middle East News Agency / MENA) Some residents of Mosul vowed to take revenge from the Iraqi person who tipped-off the US troops about the whereabouts of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussain's sons, Qusay and Uday, no matter how it takes them. A number of Iraqis said their revenge would also reach the family of the traitor and the US troops as well. Tribal leader assasinated in Mosul. (Iran-based radio Voice of Mujahedin and RFE/RL Iraq Report) A tribal leader from one of Iraq's largest tribes, the Shammar, was reportedly assassinated in Mosul. Shaykh Sha'lan Munif al-Faysal, also known as Sha'lan al-Jarbah, was killed when assailants opened fire on the car he was traveling in. The shaykh reportedly exchanged fire with his attackers, killing one. He was killed along with his driver. Some Iraqis speculated that the assassination was linked to the unidentified informant who provided U.S. forces with the location of Uday and . Iraqi officials and translators killed, death threats sent. (London-based newspaper Al-Hayat) A number of Iraqi officials and eight translators working with the coalition forces were killed in separate incidents. Among the officials killed in assassinations in Baghdad in the last week of July is Dr Mustafa al-Hiti, Dean of the Pharmacology College at Baghdad University, who was appointed to the post after the downfall of the former regime. Among them is also Dr Muhammad al-Rawi, former president of the same university, who was a senior Ba'athist leader. He was sacked from his post under an order to "purge Iraqi society of Ba'athists", issued by US administrator . Dr Fa'iz Ghani Aziz, director-general of one of the largest state-run industrial companies in Iraq, the Public Company for Vegetable Oil, was killed by a group of people who sought to steal his car and money. Elsewhere, Iraqi translators working with the coalition forces received death threats to make them quit their jobs. An Iraqi translator working at Baghdad Airport said eight of his colleagues have been killed in armed operations targeting the coalition forces since attacks on these forces began in May. He also said that a number of his colleagues working with the coalition forces received "threats through writings on the walls of their homes and threatening letters sent to their families". U.S. outlines rules for Iraqi claims. (UK newspaper The Guardian and RFE/RL Newsline) U.S. military officials in Baghdad laid down rules that will determine whether Iraqis may seek compensation for death or destruction of property caused by the occupying powers in Iraq. A U.S. military spokesman said that under the Foreign Claims Act, Iraqis will only be entitled to compensation if it can be proven that soldiers acted wrongfully or negligently during "noncombat activities." The unidentified spokesman added that claims made against the United States for acts occurring before 1 May – the date when U.S. President George W. Bush declared major combat operations over in Iraq -- are unlikely to be considered. The spokesman said that the United States has

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received 2,400 claims and paid out $262,000 in compensation so far. The spokesman was unable to say whether any payments have been made for loss of life, but said that such claims will be paid at a local rate. "I hate to say it, but the value of a life in Iraq is probably less than a life in the U.S. or U.K.," he reportedly said.

August 4 Iraqi army recruits begin training. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) Some 400 volunteers for the New Iraqi Army began a two-month basic-training program in the city of . U.S. forces transported the recruits to a base in the city under heavy guard for fear of attacks by militants. The recruits comprise around half of the first group of soldiers to undergo training by U.S. forces in August. The United States will train more than 12,000 Iraqi soldiers by year-end, and another 40,000 by the end of 2004. Upon completion of training, they are expected to serve at least 26 months. The deputy commanding general of the Coalition Military Advisory and Training Team, Brigadier General Jonathon Riley, was quoted in a 19 July press release as saying that each enlistee will initially be paid $60 per month. "At the conclusion of training, individuals will be appointed to ranks and assigned to positions of leadership according to their abilities and performance in training. Their pay will be increased according to their duties and responsibilities," Riley added. Abu Ghurayb Prison renovated and renamed. (Reuters and RFE/RL Iraq Report) The Abu Ghurayb Prison has been renovated and renamed by the U.S.-led administration in Iraq. The prison, located approximately 32 kilometers west of Baghdad, was notorious under the Hussain regime for the torture and execution of its prisoners. Between 20,000 and 40,000 prisoners were housed at the facility, which has been renamed the Baghdad Central Penitentiary by the coalition authority. The prison currently houses 500 prisoners, 400 of them common criminals. They are reportedly kept outside in razor-wire pens under 50 degree Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) heat, awaiting a court date. The prison is composed of five distinct compounds each surrounded by guard towers and high wall." Turkish, US troops inspect refugee camp in northern Iraq. (Turkish NTV television) During the weekend Turkish and US soldiers carried out a joint inspection at the Makhmur refugee camp in northern Iraq, where alleged militants belonging to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) are reported to be staying. The United Nations has opposed Turkey and the United States, who want to close down the camp. The Makhmur camp, where some 9,000 Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin are staying, has caused some difficulty between the United Nations, Turkey and the United States. It was alleged that hundreds of weapons were seized in a search carried out by US soldiers in the camp.

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August 5 Iraqi police dismantled some kidnapping gangs. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) Iraqi police have dismantled four kidnapping rings in the past three weeks, Interior Minister General Ibrahim Ahmad said. The number of kidnappings in Baghdad has been on the rise in recent weeks, with highly organized kidnapping gangs seeking up to $75,000 ransom for their hostages. It was reported that the criminals often target Christian families, where no tribal networks exist to retaliate against the gangs. Bernard Kerik, the Coalition Provisional Authority's (CPA) adviser to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said that a raid on August 4 resulted in the release of several hostages and the capture of a gang of nine kidnappers. Police uniforms were found in the home that was raided, Kerik said, suggesting that abductors are posing as police officers. He urged citizens to report abductions to the police. But, according to a "Los Angeles Times" report, many families complained that they approached the police and U.S. military for assistance in kidnapping cases and received no help. UNICEF decides not working with an orphanage in Sadr City. (UK newspaper The Times and RFE/RL Iraq Report) The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is reportedly no longer working with an orphanage in Sadr City, Baghdad, after clerics running the orphanage imposed strict control over girls in its care, marrying off some as young as 13 years old. The Dar Al-Rahma (House of Mercy) orphanage was emptied when the U.S. troops mistakenly threw open its doors in early April. Of the 135 children housed in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs-run orphanage before the war, 60 have yet to be recovered. Shi'ite clerics now run the establishment, imposing strict Islamic law on its occupants, which are aged between six and 18. Clerics have also established their authority at schools, hospitals, and other social institutions in Sadr City. The orphanage has married off 10 girls aged 13 to 19. The UNICEF chief of mission in Baghdad, Carol de Rooy, said that abandoned children in Iraq are vulnerable because the Juvenile Code, which dates to 1983, criminalised poverty by defining child beggars and workers as vagrants. Children found on the streets were often jailed with adults.

August 8 Military security force complete training in Mosul. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party Kurdistan Satellite TV) In the presence of the commander of the US 101 Division, Maj-Gen , and the deputy commander of Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces, Brusk Nuri Shawes, the passing out of the 4th Company, Delta, was held in Mosul within the framework of the rebuilding of a new Iraqi army. The military company comprises Arab and Kurdish servicemen from Arbil, Mosul, and Suleimaniya Governorates. Office for employment of former servicemen set up in Mosul. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party Kurdistan Satellite TV) The Military Personnel Employment Office was opened in the city of Mosul during ceremonies attended by the commander of the US 101 Division, Petraeus, and the

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deputy governor of Mosul, Khasraw Goran. The duty of the office is to find jobs for the unemployed, specifically former military personnel - officers and ranks. Curfew in the city of Hit. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) There was an attack on a meeting to arrange coordination between the US forces and the local governing council. Following the incident, the US forces went down to the city of Hit and closed the area. The US forces raided some areas and arrested a number of citizens for questioning. The situation became tenser after the commander of the US forces in the city of Hit ordered the closure of shops and said declared a curfew as of 20:00 local time. The presence of armed civilians, who were wearing masks and roaming around the city, carrying Kalashnikov rifles, was reported. Free Iraqi Society leader detained by US forces. (London-based newspaper Al- Hayat) Participants in the final session of a conference held by the Free Iraqi Society party raised controversial issues, which prompted the US authority in Iraq to summon and detain the party's secretary-general, Abd-al-Muhsin Shalash. In his speech on August 7, Shalash said: "Iraqis reject the US occupation and a permanent foreign presence. Saddam Hussain, even though he was a dictator, is one of the sons of Iraq. This status makes him more acceptable than the occupiers." Before his detention, Shalash said that the US administration in Iraq confiscated his funds because he had freely expressed his opinion. The party's conference, in which tribal leaders, representatives of various sects, and a number of engineers, doctors, university graduates and businessmen took part, announced that the interim Governing Council has no "constitutional or popular" legitimacy. Civilians killed by US troops. (UK newspaper The Guardian) Six Iraqis, including a father and three of his children, were killed in Baghdad at the weekend by US troops who opened fire on them as they hurried home to beat the curfew. The shootings took place in the Baghdad suburb of Slaykh, when the district was plunged into darkness by an explosion in a local transformer. Survivors said they were given no warning before the US troops opened fire, and that it was impossible to know where the checkpoints were as they were moved with no warning. The US military keeps no tally of Iraqi civilian casualties, but according to “iraqbodycount.org”, an internet-based watchdog group that compiles figures from press reports, the civilian toll in Iraq is 6,000 to 7,000.

August 9 Governing Council member withdraws from rotating presidency. ( weekly newspaper Al-Mu'tamar) Governing Council member Nasir al-Chadirchi has rejected the membership of the nine-member presidential committee, which rotates on the council's presidency according to alphabetical order. He opted to withdraw from the membership saying: “I refuse to be classified on a sectarian basis. I am an Iraqi. Thus, I will withdraw from the membership of this committee, which is formed on the basis of this criterion”. Al- Chadirchi was replaced by a representative of the .

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Court in Kurdish region sentences former Ba'athist to death. (Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati) Hadi Hama Salih Rahman, a former member of Iraqi intelligence service and official at Ba'ath Party organizations, was sentenced to death by Sulaymaniyah Criminal Court. The sentence was pronounced, on the basis of Article 406, Clause 1 of the Iraqi Penal Code, against him after four months of investigation and two court hearings, with compensation of 56,000 Swiss-print dinars to the family of the victims. The person killed three people, members of a farming family from Penjwin, after a dispute in Nasr collective town in Sharazur region, on 24 June 1991. The victims were Haji Mahmud Sharif, Abdullah Haji Mahmud and his wife Samin. After having committed the crime, he had fled to the city of Kirkuk. He was arrested by the police in Kirkuk on 19 April 2003. After the verdict by the criminal court, the file was sent to the regional Court of Appeal.

August 10 Riots erupt in . (Reuters) British troops fired warning shots in the Iraqi city of Basra as hundreds of residents rioted for a second day, attacking vehicles and burning tires in protest at power and fuel shortages. At least one Iraqi was wounded in the violence. On July 9, British troops stationed in the southern city donned riot gear and used batons to disperse angry protesters. Several British soldiers were slightly injured. It was the most widespread violence seen in the mostly Shi'ite Muslim south since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussain. Protesters criticized the British for failing to restore basic services to pre-war levels and accused Kuwaitis of involvement in smuggling out cheap Iraqi oil. Former intelligence, security personnel raise Saddam pictures at protest. (Al- Jazeera satellite TV) Over 300 personnel of the intelligence and security services of the former Iraqi regime demonstrated in Ba'qubah, demanding the payment of their wages and service rights. The demonstrators chanted slogans in praise of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain and carried his pictures. They denounced the US occupation and the transitional Governing Council. Some demonstrators were seen wearing belts with hand grenades attached to them. The US troops that were stationed in the area only watched the demonstration but did not intervene. Security forces reportedly arrest, deport Afghan and Iranian nationals. (Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati) The internal security forces of Hajj Umran arrested 13 Afghans planning to go to central and southern regions of Iraq through Iraqi Kurdistan. Among those arrested were four women and nine men, all of who had Afghan identity papers on them. The group was interrogated and later deported. On 6 August 2003, the security authorities in the Soran region arrested and later deported 12 Iranian citizens. On 11 August 2003, the security forces in Kirkuk deported 28 Iranians who had entered Suleimaniya and Kirkuk via the Tawilah and Suleimaniya regions.

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August 11 Eight Iraqi justices reinstated. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) The U.S.-led administration re-appointed eight Iraqi Supreme Court judges fired by Saddam Hussain 10 years ago. Hussain removed them from their positions after they failed to uphold the death-penalty ruling of a lower Iraqi court in a case involving a man accused of murdering an associate of Qusay Saddam Hussain. The eight judges had petitioned the Iraqi Justice Ministry's Judicial Review Committee for reinstatement at the end of July. The committee, chaired by two Iraqi and two coalition representatives, issued an order of reinstatement after reviewing the petitions. According to the order, "The facts overwhelmingly support the conclusion that these judges were improperly removed from office." The CPA reported that the reinstated justices will have access to their retirement benefits and may even receive some back pay. The Judicial Review Committee was established by the CPA to "vet every judge and prosecutor for Ba'athist links, corruption, complicity in human rights abuses, other malfeasance," and to investigate claims by those who felt they were wrongly discharged from their positions during the Saddam Hussain era. Journalist briefly detained and handcuffed. (The Committee to Protect Journalists / CPJ) U.S. forces forcibly detained Hassan Fattah, editor of the English-language daily “Iraq Today” after preventing him from attending the Iraqi Governing Council's press conference. Fattah said that he came to the center five minutes after journalists were supposed to arrive and was told by a U.S. Army major that he was not allowed to enter the center. Fattah said that several soldiers wrestled him to the ground, handcuffed him, and took him away. His press card was confiscated and he was told that he would not be able to return to the center. His card was later returned. Governing Council sets up preparatory committee to draft Iraqi constitution. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Al-Ta'akhi) The Governing Council decided to set up a preparatory committee to establish the mechanism and means to select members of the constitutional conference, which will draft the constitution. The council's press statement included the names of the 25- member preparatory committee and they are as follows: 1. Dr Ismat Abd-al-Majid Bakr; 2. Dr Mahdi Jabir Mahdi; 3. Ata Abd-al-Wahab; 4. Dr Muhammad al-Haj Hammud; 5. Dr Muhammad Umar Mawlud; 6. Dr Dindar Najman Shafiq; 7. Dr Hikmat Hakim; 8. Dr Kan'an Makiyah; 9. Dr Mustafa Ibrahim al-Zilmi; 10. Sami Abd-al-Rahman; 11. Dr Fu'ad Ma'sum; 12. Judge Ibrahim Malik Khayri al-Hindawi; 13. Judge Abd-al-Husayn Shandal Isa Muhsin al-Ulayyan; 14. Dr Mahmud Muzaffar; 15. Muhammad Rida al-Gharifi; 16. Dr Abd-al-Amir al-Zahid; 17. Hadi Aziz Ali; 18. Dr Safa-al-Din Muhammad; 19. Shaykh Dr Himam Hammudi; 20. Firsat Ahmad; 21. Ibrahim al-Mi'mah; 22. Abbas Bayati; 23. Judge Muhammad Abd-Nasir Khalaf; 24. Hani Idris Majid; 25. Judge Yas Khudayyir.

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August 12 Kurdish forces arrest 150 people said linked to Ansar al-Islam. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) forces have arrested 150 people believed to be members of, or sympathisers with, Ansar al-Islam, a group based in northern Iraq. Syria rights group says 30 exiled citizens released. (Reuters) Human Rights Association of Syria (HRAS) said in a statement that the Syrian authorities released about 30 citizens held after returning from Iraq where they had been living in exile until the U.S.-led war. The group welcomed the move and urged "the authorities to release the rest of the exiled Syrians who returned from Iraq and other countries and to permit the safe return of others". UNHCR recommends maintaining a ban on forced returns to Iraq. (UNHCR Briefing Notes) The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR recommends that states maintain a ban on forced returns to Iraq, including of rejected asylum seekers, and that no returns should be promoted at this time. UNHCR also urged states to refrain from returning Iraqi asylum seekers to countries in the region that they might have transited or visited. UNHCR recommended that temporary forms of protection be granted to Iraqis, including to newly arrived asylum seekers. UNHCR spokesperson said that any continuing deterioration of physical and material safety may still lead to forced displacements in Iraq. Iraqi Christian, Shi'i leaders discuss role of clergy in uniting people. (Iraqi Assyrian Democratic Movement newspaper Bahra) At the initiative of member of the Governing Council of Iraq and secretary-general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, Yunadem Kanna, a church delegation, comprising patriarchs, clerics and religious figures of Iraq, visited the religious sources of emulation in Al-. The delegation comprised the head of the Chaldean Archiepiscopal, Archbishop Shlimun Warduni; deputy of the Eastern Church Archiepiscopal, Archbishop Gorgis Siliwa; head of the Armenian Orthodox Community in Iraq, Patriarch Afak Asadurian; head of the Syriac Catholic Archiepiscopal in Baghdad, Archbishop Matti Mituka; head of Roman Orthodox Church in Baghdad, Father Yunan al-Farid; the representative of Orthodox Syriac Church, Father Ni'mat al-Khuri Binyamin; the spiritual guide of the Sabi'ah (Al- Mada'iyyin) community in Iraq, Shaykh Sattar Jabbar; the secretary-general of the National Chaldo-Assyrian Council, Adib Kuka and members of the council; and well- known Chaldo-Assyrian political figures. The governor of Al-Najaf, Haydar Mahdi Matar, accompanied by a number of the governorate's officials, clerics and heads of tribe, welcomed the delegation in the outskirts of the city. The delegation then went to meet Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id al-Hakim. The next meeting was with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Then the delegation met the leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim who discussed with Yunadem Kanna, and listened to the speech made by Archbishop Gorgis Siliwa, who stressed the impact this meeting would have on rapprochement, respect, collaboration

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and amiability among the Muslim and Christian people of Iraq, who confronted the same challenge.

August 13 Iraqis hold protest in Ba'qubah after US forces arrest Shi'i leader. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) About 400 citizens have staged a demonstration in the city of Ba'qubah, in the Diyala Governorate, along with a gathering of Sunni and Shi'i ulema clerics and representatives of Christians and Sabians, to present a memorandum of protest to the US commander in the governorate. The memorandum calls for the release of Shi'i leader Ali Abd-al-Karim al-Madani and his brother. The US forces arrested them a few days ago. This is the second time Al-Madani has been arrested by the US forces. US soldiers fire on demonstrators in Baghdad, one civilian killed. (Associated Press / AP) U.S. soldiers shot into a crowd of thousands of demonstrators in a Baghdad slum, killing one civilian and wounding four after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at them. In Sadr [former Saddam] City, a Shiite Muslim slum, about 3,000 demonstrators gathered around a telecommunications tower where they said American forces in a helicopter tried to tear down an Islamic banner. Later, U.S. Humvees drove by and the crowd threw stones at them. Heavy gunfire could be heard and demonstrators were seen diving to the ground. One civilian was killed and four were wounded.

August 14 Security Council establishes the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq. (UN Security Council) The Security Council established the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), and welcomed the creation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council on 13 July as "an important step" towards the formation of an internationally recognized, representative government. Adopting resolution 1500 (2003) by a vote of 14 in favour, with Syria abstaining, the Council authorised the Assistance Mission for one year to support the Secretary-General in fulfilling his mandate under resolution 1483 (2003), and consolidating United Nations activities. The Security Council, in adopting resolution 1483, supported the formation by the Iraqis, with the help of the Provisional Authority and the Secretary-General's Special Representative, of an Iraqi interim administration as a transitional administration run by Iraqis, until an internationally recognized, representative government established by the people of Iraq assumes the responsibilities of the Authority.

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August 16 Six Iraqis killed in mortar attack at prison outside Baghad. (Al-Bawaba News) A mortar attack at a prison outside Baghdad killed six Iraqis and injured more than 60, according to a US military spokesman. UNHCR assists Arab returnees from northern Iraq. (UNHCR) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is helping improve water and medical services in villages where displaced Arabs have returned under a program to stabilize returnee communities in Northern Iraq. The projects are being undertaken in villages in the Haweeja area west of Kirkuk where some 2,500 newly displaced Arabs in 500 families have gathered in the aftermath of the collapse of the Saddam Hussain government.

August 19 Taha Yassin Ramadan arrested. (BBC) Taha Yassin Ramadan was seized in the city of Mosul on August 18 and has now been handed over to the US Army. Ramadan had been on America's "most wanted" list of Iraqi officials and is accused of a role in the repression of Iraqi as well as Shia Muslims. He was detained in Mosul as a result of co-operation between the political parties and residents, Adel Murad, a spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said. Diane Perry, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, confirmed that Mr Ramadan had been turned over to the US Army. Top UN envoy to Iraq killed in attack on UN headquarters. (UN News Service) The top United Nations envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was killed when a truck bomb blew up the UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22 others and injuring more than a hundred persons in what Secretary-General denounced as an inexcusable "act of unprovoked and murderous violence." Agence France Presse report on the same news on August 21: A shadowy group calling itself "Armed Vanguards of Mohammed's Second Army" claimed responsibility for the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, vowing to attack coalition forces and Iraqis and Arabs who collaborate with them. "We vow to ... carry out similar attacks against the agent Governing Council and all coalition forces," the statement said. The authenticity of the statement - bearing the mention " branch" in reference to a town west of Baghdad where US troops regularly come under attack - could not be verified. Agence France Presse report on the same news on August 23: A shadowy group calling itself "Mohammed's Army" claimed the deadly suicide truck bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. "The operation against UN headquarters ... is the result of information gathered by the intelligence services of Mohammed's Army," the group said. In the video statement, which showed seven hooded and armed militants, the group hinted the bombing was aimed at US intelligence agents present in the UN headquarters at the time. The men were notably dressed in the uniforms of Saddam

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Hussein's Fedayeen, and were carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers and other weapons. Kurdish security arrests seven radical Islamists. (Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan newspaper Kurdistani Nuwe) Internal Security captured seven suspected remnants of Ansar Al-Islam among them two Arabs of Palestinian and Tunisian nationalities. It was reported that five suspects were arrested in Qala Diza including one Palestinian, one Tunisian and three Kurds, and two others were arrested in Chamchamal.

August 20 UN HQ blast delays return of Iraqi refugees from Iran. (AFP) The planned repatriation of a first batch of Iraqi refugees from Iran has been postponed after the bomb blast at UN headquarters in Baghdad. "Given the uncertainty, it is clear this return will not take place next week. When it will happen, we can't say," UNHCR spokeswoman Marie-Helene Verney said. An official at Iran's Interior Ministry blamed the US-led coalition in Iraq for "not doing anything to facilitate the return of Iraqis." Ahmad Hosseini, the head of immigration at the Interior Ministry, said Iran would not officially authorize the return of Iraqis but would not stop them if they insisted on crossing the border.

August 21 Hassan al-Majid in US custody. (RFE/RL Newsline) U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed in a press release that General Ali Hassan al-Majid is in the custody of coalition forces. Al-Majid, number five on CENTCOM's 55 most-wanted list, gained notoriety for his prominent role in the 1988-90 anti-Kurdish "Anfal" campaign and his suppression of the 1991 Shi'a revolt in southern Iraq. He occupied numerous senior positions in the Iraqi government under , including military governor of "Kuwait Province" during the Iraqi occupation in 1990-91. Al-Majid's death was announced early in the war after a bomb leveled his villa in Al-Basrah, but subsequent reports indicated that he survived the strike. Coalition officials did not provide further details of al-Majid's capture.

August 23 11 killed in ethnic violence in northern Iraq. (US newspaper Washington Post) An ethnic feud over a religious shrine in escalated into riots in which eight people were killed on August 22 and three others slain in Kirkuk on August 23. U.S. troops trying to quell the violence between Kurds and Turkmens killed three of the people in Tuz Khurmatu and three in Kirkuk, the U.S. military said. While Tuz was calm, a couple of explosions of unknown origin rocked Kirkuk in the evening. The violence started on August 21 when a group of Turkmen Shiites decided to march to the shrine of Imam Ali Zein al-Abeddine. The domed shrine had been destroyed during the Hussein era. Townspeople rebuilt it after the Iraqi leader was deposed. On

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the way out of town, however, the Turkmens encountered hostile Kurds, who are Sunni Muslims, and exchanged insults with them. The primary source of the tension between Kurds and Turkmens is a political struggle over the administration of Tuz Khurmatu. Overnight, someone fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the shrine's dome, caving it in. On August 22 morning, enraged Turkmens marched through town. Gunfire broke out, and U.S. armored vehicles and helicopters attached to the 173 Airborne Brigade fought off the rioters, U.S. officials said. Three people were killed in the exchanges. In Kirkuk, Turkmens marched on the heavily fortified mayor's office. Shooting broke out, and the Turkmens burned a police station as well as a Kurdish flag. U.S. troops guarding city hall intervened. In Baghdad, Turkmens also protested, but no violence was reported. AFP report on the same news on August 24: A tense truce prevailed in Tuz Khurmatu after leaders of rival ethnic groups agreed to end fighting that left at least eight dead, city officials and the local coalition military commander said. The meeting of ethnic and political leaders with tribal chiefs and the US military agreed that Kurds would pay money to the families of slain Turkmen and the Turkmen would likewise provide for the families of the killed Kurds. They also agreed to rebuild the mosque dome from public coffers. The peace is expected to take some weeks to secure, observers said, as traditional tribal and family vendettas that result from such killings require protracted efforts -- and the payment of money -- to settle without further bloodshed. Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan satellite TV report on the same news on August 26: The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Iraqi Turkoman Front have reached an agreement in the presence of a representative of the Iraqi Turkoman al-Wafa Movement regarding the unrest in Kirkuk. The following is the text of the agreement: “In an amicable and fraternal atmosphere, the two sides discussed the regrettable events that took place recently in Kirkuk and its suburbs, and an agreement was reached on the following: 1. To condemn of the perpetrators of the disturbances in Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu. 2. To set up a joint committee to investigate the regrettable events in order to get to the facts and bring the criminals to justice. 3. Instructions to be issued by the sides participating in the meeting to their members and supporters on the need to activate the constituents of peaceful and fraternal coexistence between citizens in Kirkuk and suburbs, regardless of their ethnic and sectarian belonging, with a view to building a modern civil society in the area, and to direct the media to unite the local national ranks. 4. To compensate the families of the martyrs and those who have suffered materially and morally. 5. To set up a joint committee to deal with the problems and obstacles that may occur in the future; that is an operations room. 6. To continue to hold regular joint meetings to consolidate and facilitate relations between the political and social sides for the sake of serving the people and the homeland.”

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August 24 Al-Najaf bombing wounds senior cleric. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) An explosion in Al-Najaf wounded senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id al-Hakim, who is an uncle of Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim. The explosion of a booby-trapped gas cylinder killed three people and wounded 10 others. Muhsin al-Hakim, who is Iraqi Interim Governing Council member Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim's political adviser, said, "we suspect that [the perpetrators are] members of the former Ba'ath regime and Saddam supporters who wish to ignite a war between the Sunnis and the Shi'as," SCIRI's “Voice of the Mujahedin” radio reported. Reuters report on the same news on August 25: Thousands of Shi'ites protested in the holy city of Al-Najaf following the funerals of three bodyguards of SCIRI member Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id al-Hakim. The bodyguards were killed in a bomb attack on al-Hakim's office. Protesters blamed Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for the attack on al-Hakim's office. Al-Sadr's followers have denied any involvement in the attack. US forces arrest Al-Quds commander. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) The U.S. military has arrested Al-Quds Army Brigades commander Major General Subhi Kamal al-Ruzayq. The arrest reportedly occurred in the Hit area west of Baghdad, where al-Ruzayq was hiding in a friend's house. Red Cross cuts Iraq operations. (BBC) The International Committee of the Red Cross is cutting back its operations in Iraq after warnings that it could be targeted for attack. The number of foreign staff in Baghdad is being reduced to about 50 as the level of violence throughout the country has failed to abate and the organisation fears that US-led forces cannot ensure security. The Red Cross tends to stay put when everyone else goes, so its decision to reduce staff is likely to be followed by other agencies. The ICRC in Baghdad is involved in a number of key operations which include: Supplying hospitals with medical equipment and drugs; visiting those detained by the American forces; helping families trace missing relatives; and supplying the only hospital in Baghdad for the mentally ill. In another development, medical personnel working for Spain's Movement for Peace, Disarmament and Liberty returned from Iraq. More than 400 Iraqi women kidnapped, raped in post-war chaos. (AFP) More than 400 Iraqi women have been kidnapped and raped amid the lawlessness gripping the country since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq said. The group's director Yanar Mohammed said the four months since the US-led coalition took control had seen an "unprecedented" explosion of violence against women. "More than 400 women have endured the pain and suffering of being kidnapped, raped and sometimes sold," she said at a demonstration in Baghdad's Fardous Square. "This violence is still a daily occurrence, especially on the streets of Baghdad, without attracting the least attention of the US soldiers." Mohammed said the attacks had created a climate of fear among women which meant few dared venture out of their homes.

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Jordan welcomes hundreds of Palestinians from refugee camp. (AFP) Jordan welcomed into the country hundreds of Palestinians stranded in a refugee camp for months since fleeing Iraq, for humanitarian reasons, Interior Minister Samir Habashneh said. The decision, based on instructions by King Abdullah II, is limited to Jordanian women married to Palestinian men, their spouses and children, stuck in a refugee camp in the town of Ruweished near the Jordan-Iran border. A spokeswoman for the UNHCR said the decision will affect 386 people. According to UNHCR, more than 611 other refugees who fled Iraq, mostly Palestinians, Somalis and Sudanese, remain stuck in the Ruweished camp awaiting a decision on their fate. In addition, a total of 1,162 third-country nationals, mostly Iranians who belong to Iran's opposition People's Mujahedeen (PMOI) group and were based in Iraq, are stuck in the camp in no man's land between Jordan and Iraq. They are stranded because they lack transit visas, residency in third countries or a guarantee that they will be repatriated by their governments -- requirements set by Jordan to allow them through.

August 27 Clashes between Kurdish Islamists and PUK security forces. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) Muhammad Sa'id, deputy director of the security forces in Suleimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, was killed in clashes between the security forces belonging to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Ansar al-Islam activists in Shaykh Muhyi-al-Din area in central Suleimaniya. PUK sources said that an agreement was concluded with these activists to give themselves up but they exploited this opportunity to attack the PUK forces, taking cover in a nearby house. Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan satellite TV report on the same news: The director of Public Security, Dana Ahmad Majid, has confirmed that three Islamists had been killed after heavy exchange of fire between them and the security forces. The three had refused to surrender after they had been cornered by the police and security forces in a house in a Suleimaniya suburb. The clashes resulted in the martyrdom of Police Colonel Muhammad Husayn, the injury of a police officer and the martyrdom of a child by Islamists. Iraqi tribal chiefs agree to protect fuel pipelines, electric pylons. (Iran-based Shi’a radio station Voice of the Mujahidin) Tribal chiefs in the Wasit Governorate have signed a document permitting the killing of anyone who is proved to have practised armed robbery, stealing, looting or kidnapping, if his actions result in murdering or injuring people. The tribes of such outlaws will not ask for indemnity or compensation or any tribal rights. They will work for forming forces to protect highways and electric pylons against any acts of sabotage, and guard public property and pipes used for carrying oil derivatives. This was decided in a meeting attended by Wasit Governor Ni'mah Sultan and representatives of political and religious parties to discuss ways to establish law and order in the governorate.

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Iraqi Kurdistan Communist Party dismisses members found to be agent of former regime. (Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati) After a great number of documents and files of the Ba'ath intelligence fell into the hands of the political sides and the citizens, the Kurdistan Communist Party removed and expelled two of its cadres from the party's ranks whose names were in the files of spies.

August 28 PUK representative elected as the head of Jalawla Administrative Sub-District. (Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan newspaper Kurdistani Nuwe) In the presence of Diyala Governor Dr Abdullah Jibur and Coalition Commander Colonel Miller, the head of Jalawla Administrative Sub-District was elected. Eighty voters from amongst public figures and directors of institutions participated in the election. Three Kurds won the vote of confidence: “1. Anwar Husayn Michael, head of the administrative sub-district, won 54 votes; 2.Wurya Umar Amin, the deputy head (KDP representative), won 41 votes; 3. Salah Hamid Husayn, the deputy head (Communist Party representative), won 34 votes.

August 29 Leading Shiite cleric assasinated. (AFP) A car bomb killed at least up to 81 people, including Iraq's leading Shiite politician, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, and wounded more than 200 outside one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in the city of Najaf. Hakim, head of the Iran-backed Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), was killed moments after he delivered his weekly sermon at the Tomb of Ali in the holy city. The gates of the mosque were shuttered and guarded by dozens of Iraqi police, while three fire trucks were positioned around the compound. Hospital sources said 82 people had been killed and 229 injured. The cleric had, in his final speech, vigorously denounced Saddam Hussein and his now-banned Ba’ath party, accusing them of orchestrating attacks against the US-led coalition. The offices of anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr were also damaged in the blast. Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr called for three days of strikes to mourn the death of one of his most formidable rivals in the competition for the mantle of leadership among the country's 15 million Shiites. Agence France Presse report on the same news on August 30: Shops and businesses were closed in Najaf as the holy city mourned 83 people who died in a car bomb attack there, but in Baghdad life carried on as normal except in one predominantly Shiite district. Moqtada Sadr had called for a three-day strike in response to the attack that killed Iraq's leading Muslim Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim. His call was heeded in Najaf, where thousands demonstrated over the assassination. And in Basra, more than 5,000 people marched from the local office of Hakim's political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to the el-Ebla mosque in the heart of the city. But in Baghdad, only the residents of Sadr City, a vast Shiite quarter of about two million people that

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forms Moqtada's power base, obeyed the cleric's call. Across the river in Kadhimiyah, a middle-class Shiite area, there were also few signs that Moqtada's calls were being heeded. Many people there, as in Adamiyah, were not even aware of the strike call. Najaf governor Haidar Mehdi Matar said that four suspects detained by police in the Najaf bombing were two Iraqis loyal to Saddam Hussein's fallen regime and two Arabs described as Sunni Muslim radicals. "Two were Iraqis from Basra, who belonged to the former regime, while the other two were Arab Wahhabis," Matar said. "They confessed to the bombing." Al-Jazeera satellite TV report on the same news: The “Islamic National Resistance in Iraq” denounced the assassination of Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim. The political bureau of what is known as the “Islamic resistance” issued a statement, which held the US forces fully responsible for the assassination. Agence France-Presse report on the same news on August 31: The crowd bayed for revenge as men brandished black pistols and Kalashnikov rifles at funeral procession for assassinated Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim. Quiet for months, Shiites boiled over in anger, yelling "Revenge, revenge" and vowing to take matters into their own hands, no longer prepared to wait for the Americans to restore order in the country. As tens of thousands flooded the streets of Baghdad's Kadhimiyah district, Hakim's private militia, the Badr Brigades, reasserted their presence at the funeral for their slain leader who retired the group upon his return to Iraq in May after 23 years of exile. "All people are the Badr Brigades. Kill all the Ba’athists," chanted a few hundred mourners, banging their chests in rhythm as thousands waved black flags of mourning and green flags symbolic of Islam. Armed men from the Kadhimiyah mosque, who identified themselves as backers of Sistani, also agreed the time had come for Shiites to take charge of the situation. The top Shiite religious authority in Iraq, known as the Hawza, issued a warning to radical Sunni Muslims following the arrest of two Wahhabis said by Iraqi police to have confessed to their involvement in the Najaf bombing. "We have learned of the arrest of a group of Saudis and others, including Sunni Salafi elements from the al- Qaeda network ... as well as a number of Fedayeen of the leader of the ousted regime (Saddam Hussein), who confessed to committing the crime," said a statement by the Hawza. The statement added: "The Hawza prays God that the motive for the crime was not sectarian, otherwise this loathsome attack will have dire consequences. These consequences will not be borne by our moderate Sunni Iraqi brethren, who were as afflicted as we were by this immense loss. They will be borne by those who brand other Muslim sects as infidels and declare that it is legitimate to shed their blood and violate their properties and honour."

August 30 Shiite cleric suspends membership of Iraqi Governing Council over Najaf outrage. (AFP) Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom, a Shiite dignitary on Iraq's Governing Council, announced he was suspending his membership of the interim body in protest against August 29 bombing in the holy city that claimed the lives of a top Shiite leader and 82

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others. "This indifference (about protecting Shiite holy sites) prompts me to suspend my membership of the Governing Council, which was unable to assume its responsibility of ensuring that coalition forces protect our people, holy sites and religious authorities," Bahr al-Uloom said. Bahr al-Uloom, an 80-year-old liberal Shiite cleric who fled Iraq in 1991 and returned after the fall of Saddam Hussein in April, is one of nine members of the 25-strong Governing Council named by the US- led occupation administration in July who is due to eventually hold its rotating presidency. Iraqi tribal sheikh arrested by US troops over oil pipeline blasts. (AFP) Tribal Sheikh Hatem al-Assy al-Obeidi, who presides over a million-strong clan, was arrested by US troops west of the northern Iraqi oil capital of Kirkuk on suspicion of abetting sabotage of fuel pipelines. It was reported that US forces broke into Sheikh Hatem al-Obeidi's house in al-Ramal village and his nephew's house in al-Asar village where they found several weapons and four million Iraqi dinars (around 2,700 dollars) with some gold and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. They charged Sheikh Obeidi with supporting resistance and breaking the agreement with American forces to protect the oil lines and the electrical power lines and to protect the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit.

August 31 Two killed, two wounded by Shiite cleric's bodyguards in Najaf. (AFP) Bodyguards of Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr opened fire on a car at a checkpoint in the holy city of Najaf, killing two people and seriously wounding two others, according to hospital sources and relatives of the dead. It was reported that a mother and father were taking their daughter and her husband to a medical clinic near Sadr's home when they hit a checkpoint manned by Sadr's men who opened fire when the car sped forward. Sadr's guards had set up a chekpoint on the road. When the driver saw the roadblock, he thought the bodyguards were thieves and accelerated and the guards opened fire. British forces disarm supporters of Moqtada Sadr in Basra. (AFP) British forces disarmed some 100 supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr who set up a checkpoint in the center of the main southern Iraqi city of Basra. "Around 100 followers of Moqtada Sadr set up an illegal checkpoint outside their office in the Tuwassar district and searched cars," the spokesman for the British forces controlling the city, said. "They were searching for weapons, foreigners and stolen vehicles," he said. Halawi said British forces surrounded the militants, who subsequently agreed to hand over their weapons. He said a religious dignitary brokered a deal with Sadr's followers under which they handed over the arms but were allowed to maintain the checkpoint.

UNHCR Ankara Country of Origin Information Team Revised February 2004

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