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New York, April 9 Four American private security contractors killing, burned and mutilated recently in Fallujah in two Iraq were lured into a carefully planned ambush by men they believed to be friendly members of the Iraqi Civil Defence. Corps, a senior officials of the security firm, Blackwater, to which they belonged has said.
UN watching Iraq situation with concern
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LTTE groups engage in battle
‘At least nine killed, 300 surrender’
NASA extends Mars robot mission
America wants Kabul-Delhi
road link
US, UK want UN resolution in mid-May
Indo-Canadian fumes over frozen appointment
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Mutilated Americans were lured into ambush
New York, April 9 The incident touched off large-scale confrontation between militants and the United States forces, which is still continuing. The Iraqi men promised the Blackwater-led convoy safe and swift passage through the dangerous city instead, a few kilometres later, they suddenly blocked off the road, preventing any escape, a senior executive Patrick Toohey told the New York Times. “The truth is, we got led into this ambush”, vice-president for government relations at Blackwater, said in an interview, offering the company’s first detailed account of the attack. “We were set up,” he said. Two senior Pentagon officials said yesterday they could not independently confirm the conclusions of the Blackwater investigation and that a separate military inquiry was continuing, the paper reported. The company’s executive said investigation of the incident, which included interviews with convoy drivers who survived the ambush, had not yet determined whether the Blackwater employees were led into Fallujah by active members of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps or imposters in defence corps uniforms. But the convoy, on a mission to pick up kitchen equipment, had little cause for suspicion: the Iraqi escort was pre-arranged and met with the convoy as planned at an intersection just east of Fallujah. “They said: “we’ll escort you, show you a short way through Fallujah.” Imposters or not, he said, the incident underscored deepening concern about the reliability of the Iraqi civil defence forces at a time when allied troops were fighting in many parts of Iraq to suppress militant Sunni and Shiite groups. The account, if confirmed, could deflect blame for the incident from Blackwater. And the company’s initial findings were in line with recent complaints from senior American officials about Iraqi forces, the paper said. The Pentagon has received new intelligence reports warning that Sunni and Shiite militia groups have been ransacking Iraqi police stations in some cities and then handing out both weapons and police uniforms to angry mobs, government officials were quoted as saying.
— PTI |
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UN watching Iraq situation with concern
United Nations, April 9 Though Secretary-General’s special adviser Lakhdar Brahimi continued discussions with various groups in Baghdad, diplomats say that organising elections is a complex task which will require a period of pace for massive preparation, including drawing up of electoral rolls, leading up to the poll. There cannot be credible elections without peace in at least a major part of the country, they say. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a cautions statement on kidnapping of three Japanese, with militants of the little know group, Mujahedee Squadron, threatening their lives. Expressing concern at the deterioration of the situation and loss of life in the past few days, Mr Annan said he strongly believed that an “inclusive dialogue” and “patiently pursued” political process involving all Iraqis was essential “at this particularly sensitive” phase on the road of the restoration of sovereignty, and rule of the law. He called on all concerned to respect international law, particularly in regard to the protection of civilians and to intensify efforts to end the current crisis. Expressing concern over the threat to the Japanese, Mr Annan called for their release as also of other innocent civilians who may have been abducted for political ends in the conflict. Missing from Mr Annan’s statement was condemnation of the act apparently because he did not want to aggravate the situation. But diplomats say kidnapping of foreigners is a new phenomenon that can deter civilians from serving in Iraq. To reassure Iraqis of the United Nations’ intentions, Mr Annan once again stressed on the world body’s strategy to encourage dialogue and involve all parties in the country. In Baghdad, Mr Brahimi expressed “pain and extreme sorrow” over the “bloody events” and called on all parties to end the conflict which, he said, did not serve the purpose of anyone. The United Nations, he said, was trying to contribute to the formation of a government that would take over power in Iraq from the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority on July 1. That, he thought, would end at least some of the factors leading to the events of the past few days. He held talks with university professors, political leaders and a wide range of Iraqi professionals. In New York, a United Nations spokesman said despite the situation on the ground, Mr Brahimi had “managed” to see quite a broad spectrum of people. But he conceded that the security situation was of “concern to him (Brahimi) and to us.”
— PTI
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Colombo, April 9 A top military official in Colombo said there had been over two hours of heavy fighting shortly after midnight off the banks of Verugal river in Eastern Sri Lanka after the LTTE cadres tried to infiltrate the areas controlled by Col Karuna. “Both sides have suffered unspecified casualties. We are unable to confirm whether the fighting still continues. But we have taken immediate steps to strengthen security in the government-controlled areas to ensure that it does not escalate”, the official said on condition of anonymity. An LTTE spokesman in Wanni confirmed that there had been fighting with Col Karuna’s groups, but said he was waiting for further details from the East. A military official in Batticaloa district said this morning over the phone that the midnight fighting broke out when a group of heavily armed LTTE cadres tried to infiltrate into Col Karuna’s stronghold in Batticaloa across the Verugal, Eastern port city of Trincomalee district and about 45 km north of Eastern Batticaloa town. “Both sides are engaged in heavy mortar and long-range gun battles. Casualties have been inflicted on both sides, but no further details are available immediately”, the official said. The long-expected fighting that has now broken out could aggravate and go on for some time as both sides were quite prepared for it, after the LTTE leadership openly claimed to get rid of Col Karuna, who was expelled from the closely-knit rebel outfit after disciplinary action for fraud and misconduct last month, he said. The military official also said that on Wednesday, the LTTE cadres tried at least three times to infiltrate into areas controlled by Col Karuna through the Verugal, but were thwarted.
— UNI |
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‘At least nine killed, 300 surrender’
Colombo, April 9 The pro-Tiger Tamilnet.com website said forces of the LTTE were advancing on positions held by Col Karuna and there were casualties on both sides. LTTE formations crossed the Verugal that separates the northeast district of Trincomalee and Karuna-held Batticaloa region. “More than 300 young fighters of the Karuna group who were defending the southern side of the river and the interior surrendered without fight,” the Tamilnet said. There was no immediate word from Col Karuna on the fighting or the casualties in the pre-dawn fighting.
— AFP |
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NASA extends Mars robot mission
Washington, April 9 The rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have exceeded the space agency’s hopes and discovered the firmest evidence yet that Mars once had warm, wet areas that could have been host to life. “Given the rovers’ tremendous success, the project submitted a proposal for extending the mission and we have approved it,’’ Mr Orlando Figueroa, Mars Exploration Programme Director at NASA, said in a statement. NASA said it would spend 15 million dollars more to keep the rivers exploring the planet’s surface through September. Dr Firouz Naderi, manager of Mars exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said it was possible the robots could stop working. “Even though the extended mission is approved to September and the rovers could last even longer, they also might stop in their tracks next week or next month. They are operating under extremely harsh conditions,” he said. “However, while Spirit is past its ‘warranty’, we look forward to continued discoveries by both rovers in the months ahead.” In March, Opportunity uncovered geologic evidence that its landing site on the flat, featureless Meridiani Planum once was “drenched in” water. Three days later, Spirit discovered signs that small amounts of water once welled up in the soil of Gusev Crater on the opposite side of the planet. Scientists think it might have once been a lake. — Reuters |
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America wants Kabul-Delhi road link
Washington, April 9 “President Bush’s commitment to de-mine and repave the entire stretch of the Kabul-Kandahar highway was fulfilled. The road had not been functional for over 20 years. What was once a 30-hour journey can be accomplished in just five or six hours Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate subcommittee on foreign operations yesterday. “This fundamentally changes all kinds of dynamics within Afghanistan. People can move around. The country can be brought back together with the simple act of completing this road,” he said. Elaborating Washington’s plans to extend the road to the west as well as the North, he said: “We will try to create a ring road in this Central Asian nation that then can connect to the other Central Asian nations, to Pakistan and through Pakistan ultimately to India, which will put the Silk Road back into operation after so many years of misuse and no use.”
— PTI |
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US, UK want UN resolution in mid-May
United Nations, April 9 Officials from both countries want the 15-nation U.N. Security Council to give its blessing to a new Iraqi interim government, a multinational force and a U.N. role in the country that would increase ahead of hoped-for elections in early, 2005. Unaffected by the violence is U.S. insistence that American plans will go ahead to hand over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30. The U.S. military would remain head of a multinational force and the United States would retain control of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid.
— Reuters |
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Indo-Canadian fumes over frozen appointment
Toronto: Mr Bhupinder S. Liddar would have become Canada’s first Consul-General at Chandigarh, the joint capital of India’s Punjab and Haryana states, if things had gone according to schedule.
Instead, the Indo-Canadian is contemplating suing the Canadian Government for keeping him in a limbo and freezing his appointment made five months ago by the then Prime Minister Jean Chretien. His lawyer Janice Payne is reported to have said Mr Liddar had a good case to sue for damages if the issue was not resolved. In preparation for taking up the appointment, Kenya-born Liddar had sold off his magazine and dropped his television show and attended several Foreign Affairs Ministry briefings to prepare himself for his new post. There have been several farewell functions, the last one in Ottawa attended by many diplomats. The Federal Government quoted national security concerns when it froze Mr Liddar’s appointment on March 23, five months after his appointment on October 21. “We have been given no reasons,” Mr Payne said. “We have no information other than that he had no security clearance.” Mr Liddar’s lawyer is now asking to have the denial reviewed by the Security and Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC). But it’s too early to expect a response, Mr Payne said. Mr Liddar told a press conference, he was not aware of the reasons for the suspension and urged the government to make its reasons public. “The Prime Minister introduced me as Canada’s consul-general in Chandigarh and since that time there’s nothing and suddenly I hear there’s some concerns,” Mr Liddar said. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham said Mr Liddar would continue to be paid by the Foreign Office until the matter was resolved. “There are some unresolved issues with respect to Liddar’s appointment. I’m not prepared to comment on them until they have been resolved,” Mr Graham said. The minister did not elaborate whether “administrative matters” had to do with a security clearance procedure. Well-known in Ottawa and in parliamentary circles, Mr Liddar has specialised in Middle-East issues. He was the publisher and editor of Diplomat & International Canada since 1989. He also hosted “The Diplomatic World”, a weekly panel discussion on current international issues broadcast on the CPAC channel. Mr Liddar was instrumental in pushing for a special commemorative stamp to mark 100 years of Sikh Indo-Canadians presence in this
country. — IANS |
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