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SPECIAL REPORT

Exiled Shiite leader prepared to topple Saddam Hussein

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE

Friday, February 26, 1999

ROME [MENL] -- Iraqi Shiite leader Baker El Hakim, living in exile in Tehran said Wednesday that he was ready to cooperate with the United States government to topple the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"We are working to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. We are speaking about a long-term project and the overthrow of his regime has already begun," El Hakim told the Italian publication, "La Republica". Hakim said he would join forces with the U.S. to bring down Saddam Hussein's regime that "oppresses his people and murders them with non-conventional weapons."

But Hakim said that the interests of the Iraqi people would have to be foremost and not American interests.

Referring to recent Shiite demonstrations in Iraq after the killing of leading Shiite Cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Sadr and his two sons in the Holy City of Najaf last Friday night, Hakim said the demonstrations were spontaneous and not part of the plan to topple the Iraqi regime He appealed to the U.S. to increase the no-fly zones over the entire Iraq and to forbid the Iraqi to possess heavy arms.

Iraqi anti-aircraft mobile missile batteries continuously barrage allied aircraft in the northern and southern no-fly zones.

Uday al-Tai, the head of the official Iraqi news agency said Wednesday that the U.S.-led air strikes near Baghdad, near Al Iskandariyah, earlier Wednesday are viewed by Iraq as an intensification of the conflict. In response, he said Iraq will continue to confront allied aircraft in the northern and southern no-fly zones.

"We declare today that this act is considered a new intensification and an open aggression," Tai said.

Eyewitnesses in Baghdad reported that several civilianns were killed and several wounded after the air raid sirens sounded Wednesday. Iraq opened fire on the aircraft, eyewitnesses said.

U.S. F-15s flew over the northern no-fly zone on Tuesday. They dropped six precision-guided bombs.

Wednesday's air strikes "were in response to an Iraqi aircraft violation of the no-fly zone and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed at coalition aircraft," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Friday, February 26, 1999




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