Chronology of Events in Iraq, June 2003 *

Transcription

1 , June 2003 * June 1 Gun amnesty declared. (Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Khabat) The two weeks' notice given by the coalition forces to the population to hand over weapons and ammunitions in Iraq, started. Everyone can put his gun in a plastic bag and bring it to the Iraqi police centres. According to a statement by the coalition forces, anyone who carries gun in the streets, except a pistol, which has been allowed, after the two weeks notice will be immediately arrested and punished. It was stated that people can possess rifles like Kalashnikovs at home, but they are not allowed to carry them in the markets. Ba athist killed in Basra. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) A former army colonel who worked for the security agencies was targeted and killed on the Umm-Qasr-Basra road. June 2 Food rationing resumes in Iraq. (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty RFE/RL Iraq Report) Millions of Iraqis began collecting food rations as the UN World Food Program restarted the distribution of monthly ration packages in Iraq after two months. The rations will be given to Iraqi citizens who present pre-war ration cards. Around 60 percent of Iraqis were dependent on monthly rations under the deposed Baath regime. The UN distributed the rations from 1996 until the start of US-led war under the oil-for-food program, which is currently being phased out under UN Security Council Resolution Tension between Arabs and Kurds in Daquq region. (Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Jamawar) It was reported by Kurdish sources that after the Arabs who had been brought to the Daquq province within the context of the Arabization process had fled, and the Kurds returned to their properties and homes, some Arabs once again intend to fight their way back to those regions. As a result of such actions, shooting and clashes have constantly been happening in the region during the past days. * 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. June 2003 Page 1 16/02/2004

2 U.S. forces arrest another Iraqi official on most-wanted list. (Associated Press / AP) U.S. forces are holding the commander of an Iraqi militia force that supposedly included millions of volunteer fighters, a military statement said. Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-rawi was No. 30 on the U.S. list of the 55 most-wanted former Iraqi officials, according to a brief statement released by the U.S. Central Command. It did not say when he was captured. He was chief-of-staff of the al-quds Army, which was set up three years ago by Saddam Hussein to act as a backup to the regular army. Al- Rawi was a former Republican Guard commander who was awarded 27 medals and prized "Qadassiyah Sword" for exploits during war with Iran. He was severely wounded in the head in 1988 leading his troops in a counterattack against Iranian forces. Iraqis repatriated from Syria and Lebanon. (Iran based Shi a radio Voice of the Mujahidin and RFE/RL Iraq Report) The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) reportedly assisted in the repatriation of several thousand Iraqis to their country. According to a statement by Muhammad Sa'id al-hakim in Damascus, 8,000 Iraqis from Syria and Lebanon were repatriated since the war ended in Iraq. June 3 A Ba athist woman killed in Basra. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) A hand grenade attack was mounted on a Ba'thist woman in Basra. The woman's house was set ablaze. June 4 Iraqi tribal chief killed in Basra. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) Shaykh Ali Al-Sa'dun, chief shaykh of the Al-Sa'dun tribe, killed while returning to his house in his private car. Besides him, there were a driver and two of his relatives in the car. Four masked persons travelling in a car opened fire on him and killed him on the spot. One of his relatives was wounded in this incident. A member of his tribe, Abd-al-Baqi Abd-al-Karim al-sa'dun, was official in charge of the Ba'ath Party organisations in Basra, Al-Karkh, Al-Rusafah and Diyala. Another member of the tribe, Muhammad Zimam Abd-al-Razzaq, was the Tikrit governor and an interior minister. Al-Sa'dun tribe is a Sunni tribe living in Basra. June 5 Hand grenade wounds 20 Kurds in Kirkuk. (Agence France Presse / AFP) Twenty people were injured when a young man threw a hand grenade in a street of the city of Kirkuk. Colonel Sarhad Qader of the Kirkuk police said that a group of youths were involved in a street fight over gambling, and one of them threw a hand grenade among the crowd, wounding 20 people. All those injured were Kurdish civilians. June 2003 Page 2 16/02/2004

3 June 6 Iraqi Sunni imam defends jihad. (AFP) A Sunni prayer leader urged Muslims to wage jihad, or holy war, to recover their usurped rights and called on US forces to speed up their withdrawal from Iraq. "Muslims are entitled to raise the banner of jihad to restore usurped rights or repel an evil threatening them," Sheikh Muayyed al-aazami said in his Friday sermon at the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad. Iraqi Shi'a cleric urges confronting "remnants" of Iraqi regime. (London-based newspaper Al-Hayat) Muhammad Bahr-al-Ulum, Iraqi Shi'i cleric, has called for "confronting the remnants of the defunct regime" and "beginning to fill the political vacuum" in Iraq by forming a transitional government. In a statement, he warned of the "heavy legacy" that the Saddam regime left behind and which "has had its impact on every Iraqi". June 7 Hundreds of lawyers stage protest at British commander's Basra premises. (Al- Jazeera satellite TV) Hundreds of lawyers have staged a demonstration in front of the premises of the British commander of Basra to demand that the judicial authority be purged of the Ba'athists who were reinstated by the British forces. The demonstrators rejected the formation of an administrative council at which Iraqis will merely serve as advisers. In case the occupation troops procrastinate on this demand, Falih Ali, president of the Basra Lawyers Association, warned that he will coordinate with political parties to continue the protests until this demand is met. June 8 Iraqis protest against ongoing detention of senior cleric in Baghdad. (Egyptian news agency Middle East News Agency / MENA) Dozens of members of Iraq's Muslim scholars body demonstrated, calling for the release of a senior cleric and his son arrested by US troops on May 21. A spokesman for the Muslim body said that a delegation had met the former US civil administrator, Jay Garner, who promised them to release Shaykh Ahmad al-balisani and his son. Arab settlers in Kurdish villages to return to their original homes. (Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan newspaper Kurdistani Nuwe) A meeting was held in Dibis district attended by Rizgar Ali, Kamal Kirkuki, members of Kirkuk council and representatives of Arab and Kurdish farmers in the district and a military representative from the coalition forces. The topic of the meeting was the Arabized villages in the area. All the previous efforts to deal with the harvest of 2003 in these villages were presented which resulted in dividing the produce 50 per cent for the owners of the lands and 50 per cent for the Arab farmers who had cultivated them. All the sides agreed that the Arabs who had been settled in the village of A'misha should leave the village a day after the date of the meeting and return to their place of June 2003 Page 3 16/02/2004

4 origin, and that the Kurds displaced from the village should return to their village. The same decision was taken for all the other villages in the same area, but a deadline was not reported. June 9 Former intelligence chief takes refuge in Syria. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Al-Ta'akhi) It was reported that the former head of the Iraqi intelligence service, Sa'dun Shakir, was hiding in Syria, where he arrived a few days before the fall of Baghdad. Meanwhile, his wife arrived in Amman and his children have settled in Dubai. Sa'dun Shakir was among the first Ba'athist leaders to form the nucleus of the Iraqi intelligence body in 1968, which was then called the "Apparatus of Yearning", and later the official in charge of the liaison office, both headed by Saddam Hussain himself. June 10 "Retribution body" calls for punishing elements of former Iraqi regime. (London-based newspaper Al-Zaman) An Iraqi group calling itself the "Retribution Committee" (lajnat al-qisas) has decided to take revenge against officials in the former Iraqi regime before they are tried. Posters have appeared on mosque walls and in shops in Baghdad saying that the Retribution Committee has given itself the authority to search for former Iraqi officials, detain them and exact "the toughest revenge against them for crimes they committed against the Iraqis. The posters said that the "Retribution Committee" is an independent group that does not belong to any political movement. It added that "its mission is to carry out fair retribution against elements of the defunct regime and its army". Fedayeen Saddam group said uncovered in Basra. (Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan satellite TV) It was reported that a network of Fedayeen Saddam has been exposed. The group was reportedly planning to launch attacks against Iraqi political parties and the British forces. The sources said that network was uncovered after the arrest of a member of the group named Haydar Yasin Dawud in Basra, who admitted, during questioning, that he was a member of a cell whose aim was to gather information on political parties and the British forces in the city in order to launch armed attacks on these targets. June 11 Two senior members of the Ba ath regime arrested. (Arab news site Al-Bawaba News) US forces arrested two more senior members of Saddam Hussain's regime. According to the US Central Command (Centcom), Latif Nusayyif al-jasim al-dulaymi, a one- June 2003 Page 4 16/02/2004

5 time Information Minister and Deputy Secretary of the Ba ath Military Bureau was detained. He was number 18 on "Top 55" list of wanted Iraqis. The other Iraqi taken into custody, number 53, was identified as Brigadier General Hussain al-awadi, described as the former Ba ath Party chair in the Ninawa region and a brigadier general in the Chemical Corps. Iraqi tribes protest in Basra over chief's killing, vow revenge. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) The Al-Sa'dun tribes in the Basra Governorate organized a large demonstration in front of the headquarters of the British forces' command. The demonstrators demanded opening an investigation into the assassination of Shaykh Ali Najm Al- Sa'dun, who was assassinated on June 4. Shaykh Al-Sa'dun was the chieftain of the Al-Sa'dun and Al-Mintifiq tribes. Shaykh Kamal Sabri al-sa'dun, chieftain of Al- Mintifiq and Al-Sa'dun tribes, threatened to avenge the death of Shaykh Ali Al-Sa'dun and to mutilate the bodies of those who killed him. June 12 Shi'i cleric sanctions killing of Ba'athist figures in Iraq. (Iran-based Shi a radio station Voice of the Mujahidin) Ayatollah Sayyid Kazim al-ha'iri issued a statement in which he sanctions the killing of Ba'ath figures in Iraq, especially those who have carried out murders and assassinations, or those who are working for the return of the Ba ath regime to Iraq. He deemed them as people seeking to sow corruption on earth. In his statement, he excluded the Ba'athists who had not committed crimes. Son of Saddam's son-in-law seeks revenge for father's death. (London-based newspaper Al-Zaman) It was reported that an armed group, accompanied by the eldest son of Hussain Kamil [Saddam's son-in-law who was killed after his return to Iraq from Jordan in 1996], opened fire on two sons of Ali Hassan al-majid in an attempt to kill them. The incident seemed to be an attempt to avenge the murder of Hussain Kamil, his two brothers and his father in a pre-planned operation that was carried out by Ali Hassan al-majid and Saddam Hussain's eldest son Uday Saddam Hussain in February It has not been confirmed whether Ali Hassan al-majid's sons have been killed, even though medical sources in the city said that unnamed individuals from Al-Majid's family were killed in Tikrit last week. Six Arab nationalist parties, groups form "leadership council". (London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-awsat) Six Iraqi Arab nationalist parties and movements have agreed to form a leadership council called the "General Secretariat for Unified Arab Nationalist Action in Iraq" [Arabic: Al-Amanah al-ammah li-al-amal al-qawmi al-muwahhad Fi al-iraq]. Mahmud Hussain Ra'uf, a leader in the Arab National Democrats Movement, said that the agreement was reached at a meeting at the National Salvation Council headquarters. The parties decided to form a general secretariat that would include the Socialist Party, the Arab Socialist Movement, the National Democratic Grouping, the June 2003 Page 5 16/02/2004

6 Arab Socialist Party, the Arab National Democrats Movement and the National Salvation Council. In addition to Ra'uf, the statement issued was signed by Abd-al- Ilah al-nasrawi, Hatim al-sa'di, Zaydan al-nu'aymi, Abbas al-jabiri and Muhammad Ali al-sibahi. US says it will allow return of Iraqi refugees. (AFP) The United States said it would allow the return of more than 200,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran to US-administered Iraq, but said it was too soon for them to go home. The State Department said Washington would comply with its international obligations to allow the refugees to return to their homes from Iran, but said it could not allow them back until appropriate arrangements were in place. US officials said Washington would not begin to allow the some 202,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran to return home until "proper mechanisms for receiving" them are in place as well as procedures to ensure they can return "in safety and dignity." Earlier in Geneva, an Iranian official accused the US administration in Iraq of stopping Iraqi refugees from returning to their homes, a move that had provoked "unrest." A spokesman for the UNHCR confirmed that many of the Iraqis were eager to return home. Iraqi personalities call for pledging allegiance to Hashemite figure. (Londonbased newspaper Al-Zaman) Independent Iraqi personalities living in Arab and foreign capitals are calling for the return of the monarchy and for pledging allegiance to Prince Ra'd Bin-Zayd - the cousin of the late king [Hussain of Jordan] - who has been living in Jordan since the 1960s. In the meantime, Sharif Ali Bin-al-Hussain, leader of the Constitutional Monarchy Movement, arrived in Baghdad on June 10 and is also calling for the return of the Hashemite throne to Iraq. The statement that calls for pledging allegiance to Prince Ra'd was signed by Dr Tahsin Najm al-din al-jadir; Dr Midhat al-zubaydi; Dr Fu'ad al-samarra'i; Eng Fadil al-rubay'i; Ayyadh Hussain Makki Khammas; retired Maj-Gen Muhammad Bara al-rubay'i; retired Maj-Gen Sa'ib Hilmi; retired pilot Col Jawdat al-naqib; retired pilot Col Faruq Faraj Hussain; and retired Col Muhammad Rajab Abd-al-Hamid. June 13 Former Iraqi diplomat wounded in assassination attempt in Baghdad. (Al- Jazeera satellite TV) It was reported that Muhammad Rif'at al-ani, former head of the Iraqi interests section in Syria, was the target of an assassination attempt at his residence in Baghdad. Al-Ani suffered two bullet wounds to the chest. He is in critical condition. Al-Ani had returned to Baghdad upon the instructions of the interim administration of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which summoned all Iraqi ambassadors. Some of them returned home, while others refused to do so. "Iraqi resistance group" frees detainees held in US centre in Mosul. (Egyptian news agency MENA) It was reported that an Iraqi resistance group stormed a US centre in Mosul and freed a number of Iraqi detainees. June 2003 Page 6 16/02/2004

7 Iraqi detainee killed in escape attempt. (RFE / RL Newsline) An Iraqi detained at the Abu Ghurayb prison complex was killed when he and seven others sought to escape, CENTCOM announced. All seven of the other escapees were injured in the incident, two critically. According to CENTCOM, coalition military-police guards fired several shots "in self-defense" and in an effort to prevent the escape attempt. "Detainees throwing rocks and brandishing shanks [sic] rushed the guards," the press release states. June 15 Huge explosion, student arrests reported near Baghdad university. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) It was reported that a huge explosion took place near Al-Anbar University in Al- Ramadi. The eyewitnesses said that the US forces, which take the university campus as their headquarters, arrested many students and took them away blindfolded and with their hands tied. "Seven-member council" nominates 21 personalities for Political Council. (London-based newspaper Al-Hayat) In a meeting in Baghdad, the "seven-member leadership council" approved a "studied expansion" to increase its members to reflect the political, social and cultural diversity in Iraq. The meeting included leaders and representatives from the Iraqi National Congress, the National Accord Movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party, and the National Democratic Party. However, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq was absent. The "seven-member council" nominated 21 personalities to represent it in the political council. But it stressed that the nominees do not necessarily have to be from political forces or parties. The plan was based on establishing a "political council" that will administrate the country in cooperation with the coalition during an interim period that could last over a year starting with the announcement of the political council in mid-july. The meeting "approved the expansion of the sevenmember leadership council in accordance with very strict rules whereby any addition must truly represent the political map in Iraq" - in reference to members of the Communist Party, the Arab Socialist Movement, the Arab Islamic Party, the Independent Democrats Grouping, and representatives from the Turkomans and the Assyrians. Top Iraqi cleric rules Saddam men to be tried by Shari'ah courts. (Iraqi newspaper Sawt Al-Tali'ah) Al-Sayyid Ayatollah al-ozma Ali al-sistani issued a fatwa (religious edict) on maintaining justice in Iraq. The fatwa reads: 1. Is it permissible to punish whoever is proven to have played a direct role in killing innocent people, according to his own admission or others? In the name of God, punishment is the right of the family of the victim after the crime has been proven in a Shari'ah court. It is impermissible for others to mete out punishment. Moreover, there must not be any punishment before a Shari'ah judge has announced the sentence. June 2003 Page 7 16/02/2004

8 2. If a report written by someone against some of the faithful played a basic role in their execution, is it permissible for the family of the victims to kill this person or force him to leave the town? It is not permissible to take the initiative to punish him. The matter must be deferred until the formation of a Shari'ah court to consider these cases. 3. Is high membership in the Ba'ath Party or collaboration with the security organs a sufficient cause for death? It is not sufficient. The case must be referred to the Shari'ah courts. We have to wait until the formation of the courts. 4. Following the downfall of the regime many security files fell in the hands of some of the faithful. Is it permissible to publish what they contain, including the names of agents and collaborators with the regime? It is impermissible. They must be kept and placed at the disposal of the competent quarters. 5. Those people whose names appeared on the list of collaborators with the security organs claimed that they cooperated under threat and duress. Is it permissible to defame anyone of them before proving that he cooperated according to his own free will? It is impermissible to defame him even if it has been proven that he has cooperated with the security organs, except in certain cases that serve the higher public interest. June 17 US administrator launches judiciary reform. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) L. Paul Bremer announced the creation of a new criminal court in Iraq. The changes are seen as a first step toward upgrading the judicial system in Iraq. Two new divisions have been created: the Judicial Review Committee and the Central Criminal Court. "The Review Committee's task is to clean up Iraq's judiciary," Bremer said. "If the committee finds any judge or prosecutor who violates these standards, the committee will dismiss him or her from office." The committee will be comprised of three Iraqis and three members from the coalition and will finish its initial task in three to four months, Bremer said. Meanwhile, the Central Criminal Court will preside over criminal cases relating to attacks on Iraq's security and reconstruction. "One of the main reasons for my establishing this court is so that we can try people, in particular senior Ba'athists, who may have committed crimes against the coalition, who are trying to destabilize the situation here, and so we can do it rather quickly," Bremer said. The court will be based on the Iraqi legal code, which is a civil-law system. Three amendments have been made, however: defendants will be allowed legal representation throughout the process; they will have the right to remain silent; and the use of torture will be prohibited. Iraqi group claims attacks on coalition forces. (Al-Jazeera satellite TV) A group that called itself the Iraqi Resistance Brigades [Arabic: Sarayah al- Muqawamah al-iraqiyah] has claimed responsibility for all the operations that target the occupation forces. The statement on behalf of the group said that contrary to the reports of some news agencies, these operations are not carried out by ordinary individuals or the former Iraqi president, who the statement described as an enemy who contributed to the loss of the homeland and deepening of its wounds. June 2003 Page 8 16/02/2004

9 US, Kurdish officials authorize disarmament measures in northern Iraq. (Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan satellite TV) The US army civil administration official in the Kurdistan region and Mosul Governorate, Colonel Harry Schute, the Interior Minister in the Suleimaniyah administration Faraydun Abd-al-Qadir, and the Interior Minister in the Arbil administration, Karim Sinjari, explained the steps to be implemented by the competent authorities to bring about disarmament in the region. They signed a statement authorizing the competent institutions to implement Decree 16 of 1993, issued by the regional Kurdistan National Assembly on disarmament in the Kurdistan region. In the statement it was said that carrying any kind of weapon in the region is banned and that citizens and concerned sides in the region must surrender their light and heavy weapons to the regional government within 15 days. In another clause, the statement stresses that carrying arms, such as pistols and rifles in public places, is absolutely banned, except for internal security or special forces. The statement also said that anyone who wished to carry arms must obtain a licence from the Interior Ministry. In another clause, the sides and citizens to whom the statement does not apply are identified. They are: the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces and the internal security forces, providing that the weapons they carry have been issued by the regional government and registered officially at its centres and that the arms bearer is wearing official uniform. US troops close Islamic TV station, newspaper for "incitement". (Iran-based Shi a radio station Voice of the Mujahidin) The US troops have closed a newspaper and a television station in Holy Al-Najaf run by a newly-formed Islamic organization, the Supreme Council for the Liberation of Iraq, headed by Mahdi al-awwadi. It was reported that the US troops stormed the newspaper offices and arrested all staff. They also stormed the television building, which was previously used as a post office, in Al-Kufah and arrested the employees. The Americans accuse the newspaper and the television station that are run by the Supreme Council for the Liberation of Iraq of promoting incitement, in violation of the law that bans incitement against the occupation troops. June 18 Iraqi political parties set up new platform. (London-based newspaper Al-Zaman) Following two days of continuous meetings, Iraqi political parties have announced the formation of a secretariat committee, naming the new political structure as the Centre Tendency. Spokesman for the Iraqi Democratic Party Aziz al-yasiri said that the extensive talks held over the past two days had led to an agreement on the political rhetoric aimed at dealing with the public and other national political powers. The General Secretariat consists of Aziz al-yasiri, Mahran Hawas al-sadid, Isma'il Ali Adday, Qasim al-sa'idi, Fawzi Farman, William Ish'iyah, Mrs Wijdan Jawad al- Khuza'i, Mahmud al-azzawi and Muhammad Dia al-a'raji. The members will take turns in handling the affairs of the Secretariat while an official spokesman will be chosen later. Some 350 political, tribal, academic and professional figures from 33 Iraqi groups took part in the conference, which also drew personalities from outside June 2003 Page 9 16/02/2004

10 the five-member group which came about following the London Conference of the Iraqi opposition. Saddam's key aide arrested. (UK newspaper The Guardian) US troops captured Abid Hamid Mahmud al-tikriti, Saddam Hussain's secretary and number four on the most-wanted list. Three Iraqi ex-soldiers killed during Baghdad protest. (Al-Jazeera TV) Three former Iraqi soldiers were killed by US forces during protests in Baghdad. The demonstration was held to protest against the dissolution of the Iraqi army. June 21 Shi'a demonstrators in Baghdad call for forming new government. (Al-Jazeera TV) The Shi'a religious seminary and followers of Muhammad al-sadr have staged a demonstration in Baghdad. The demonstrators condemned the Iraqi consultative council which Paul Bremer, head of the administration office in Iraq, intends to form. The demonstrators called for involving the religious seminary in the next government, releasing the detainees and POWs, improving the coalition force's treatment of the Iraqi people, and extending assistance and basic humanitarian services to Iraqis. Islamist group threatens to step up attacks against US troops. (London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-awsat) A group calling itself "The Mujahidin Battalions of the Salafi Group in Iraq" [Kata'ib al-mujahidin fi al-jama'ah al-salafiyah fi al-iraq] threatened to step up its operations against US troops if they do not leave Iraq. In its first statement signed by its leader Abu-Dajanah al-iraqi, the group revealed its connections to the Afghan jihad years by praising Abdallah Azzam, the spiritual leader of the Afghan Arabs, and Al-Qa'idah organization leader Usamah Bin-Ladin. In its statement, the "Mujahidin Battalions of the Salafi Group in Iraq" added: "With God's support, we announce the establishment of the mujahid Salafi group, a unified Sunni group with a Salafi banner, doctrine, and orientation. It has an absolute and certain faith that jihad for the sake of God is the only way and the proper route to restore the glory, pride and dignity that have been taken away from this great nation." "National Fedayeen Front" threatens to step up attacks against US troops. (London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-awsat) A group calling itself the "National Fedayeen Front" threatened to step up its operations against the Americans if they do not leave Iraq "immediately". June 22 Socialist Nasirite Party launched. (London-based newspaper Al-Zaman) Four Iraqi parties that belong to the pan-arab Nasirite tendency announced that they are joining forces. The Iraqi Socialist Party, the Vanguard Socialist Nasirite Party, the Socialist Unity Party merged into one political organization called the Socialist June 2003 Page 10 16/02/2004

11 Nasirite Party. A statement by the four parties said that the leaders of the four parties elected Dr Mubdir al-wayyis to head the new party. June 23 Political party leader wounded in assassination attempt. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Al-Ta'akhi) The secretary-general of the Unified National Coalition, Ali Al Yosha, survived an assassination attempt allegedly by the former regime's men in Baghdad. Riyad Muhammad al-isma'ili, who is a member of the Unified National Coalition, said that "a group of armed men made the attempt from a new luxury car". He said that the secretary-general was wounded and that he was receiving treatment in Kuwait. June 24 United National Coalition established. (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Al-Ta'akhi) The establishment of a united national coalition was announced in Baghdad, including three unions: the Iraqi Tribal Union, the Democratic Professional Union and the Patriotic Officers Union. June 26 Syrian refugees evicted from Iraq homes. (AFP) Some Syrian refugees were evicted from their homes in Iraq at gunpoint after the ouster of Ba ath regime in April, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Baghdad said. "Syrians are facing the same problem as the Palestinians," said Melita Sunjic, referring to more than 800 Palestinian families which UNHCR said had been forced out of their flats. "These were their flats built for them by the (deposed) government, but criminals came, kicked them out, took their properties, sold them and helped themselves to the flats," Sunjic said. She said the expelled families, whose number was still being counted, were currently "squeezing in other flats" with relatives or other families. The families that sheltered the refugees were now scared that they too might be forced out of their homes, the UN official said. The UNHCR recently began to register Syrian refugees who had enjoyed protection from Saddam's regime and number about 140 families who left Syria in the 1960s and 1970s for political reasons. They mostly live on Haifa Street in central Baghdad. The UN refugee agency said that more than 800 Palestinian families had been evicted from their homes since the fall of the Ba ath regime, which provided them with subsidized housing. June 2003 Page 11 16/02/2004

12 June 28 Coalition Provisional Authority cancels elections in Iraq. (US newspaper The Washington Post) The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has halted all local elections in Iraq and self-rule in provincial cities and towns, opting instead to appoint mayors and administrators. Many of those to be appointed are former Iraqi military leaders. June 29 Independent Democrats Group led by Pachachi publishes new paper. (Baghdad newspaper Al-Nahdah) Al-Nahdah [Awakening] newspaper was launched by the Independent Democrats Group. Ministry issues first edition of official government gazette. (Voice of the Mujahidin) The Justice Ministry in Iraq announced that the first edition of the new Iraqi official gazette, Al-Waqa'i [Chronicles], was issued. The first issue included several decisions and new laws effective as of the date of the gazette's publication. The edition also includes the disbanding of some former Iraqi entities, cancelling military ranks and titles, discharging all servicemen and suspending compulsory military service indefinitely, in addition to continuing to pay the salaries which the disbanded entities used to pay. Widows who lost their providers in wars and handicapped veteran soldiers will also be paid. The gazette also published orders for controlling ordinary and banned weapons, managing the properties and funds of the Ba'ath Party and establishing a council to purge Iraqi society of the remnants of the Ba'ath Party. Party leader Al-Samarra'i says former regime attacked his house. (Al-Jazeera TV) Wafiq al-samarra'i, Secretary-General of the National Salvation Movement in Iraq, has stated that an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] missile hit his house in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, at dawn but no casualties were sustained. Al-Samarra'i accused elements that support the former regime of being responsible for the attack and said that he had received previous threats. June 30 Clerics warn against killing Iraqis cooperating with coalition forces. (Londonbased newspaper Al-Sharq al-awsat) The Religious Scholars Association in Al-Fallujah has recommended that people not respond to recent calls to kill everyone who cooperates with the coalition forces. The association said it is not in the interest of the Iraqi people to spark fighting because this has detrimental consequences. In a statement issued by an Islamist group, the group listed 33 names whose blood has been sanctioned. The list includes the city's governor, two former members of the June 2003 Page 12 16/02/2004

13 Iraqi Ba'ath Party who used to be division commanders, a member of the former National Assembly, five religious scholars, and a number of government employees. The group did not sign the statement with a specific name but it started off with the Koranic verse: "Slay them wherever you find them and take no friends or helpers from their ranks." Al-Najaf governor arrested on charges of kidnapping and abuse. (RFE/RL Iraq Report) U.S. forces arrested the U.S.-appointed interim governor of the holy Shi'ite city of Al-Najaf on charges of public corruption, unlawful detention, and battery. A U.S. military commander appointed Abu Haydar Abd al-mun'im, a Sunni Muslim, as interim governor of the Shi'ite-majority southern Iraqi town in April. Sixty-one people working for Abd al-mun'im, including his bodyguards, were also detained. It was reported that a locally appointed special prosecutor and an Iraqi investigative judge requested Abd al-mun'im's arrest. He will be tried under Iraqi law. UNHCR Ankara Country of Origin Information Team Revised February 2004 June 2003 Page 13 16/02/2004