Iraq said yesterday that it hoped other armed groups would follow Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's decision to freeze his militia as Sunni Arabs expressed optimism the ban would reduce attacks on them.
The suspension of Sadr's dreaded Mehdi Army was "an opportunity for other militias of different political affiliations" to lay down arms and help reduce bloodshed in the country, the prime minister's office said.
On Wednesday Sadr ordered the Mehdi Army to suspend its activities for six months after allegations that it was involved in deadly firefights the previous day in the shrine city of Karbala during a major Shiite festival.
At least 52 people were killed and 300 wounded in Tuesday's clashes between police and gunmen as hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims marked the anniversary of the birth of an 8th century imam.
Sadr denied any role in the violence but quickly ordered a freeze on his militia's activities.
example
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said Sadr's decision would help in stabilizing Iraq and be an example for other militant groups.
"The Sadr movement is an important political power in Iraq and will remain active in the political process," the premier's office said.
The statement was at pains to stress that Baghdad was not pointing the finger at Sadr's men for the Karbala carnage.
Over the past 18 months the Mehdi Army has gained notoriety, accused of killing thousands of Sunni Arabs since the brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian conflict broke out in February last year.
Iraq has around a dozen militias loyal to various political groups, and intense infighting between them has often caused outbreaks of violence on the streets.
Recent months have seen mounting reports of intra-Shiite violence between the Mehdi Army and the Badr Organization, the militant wing loyal to the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council party headed by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.
The two groups have clashed in central and southern provinces.
sunnis
Yesterday Sunnis also welcomed Sadr's move.
"If the call involves stopping displacement [of Sunnis] and burning mosques, it would be a good step," said Omar Abdul Sattar Mahmud, lawmaker from the Iraqi Islamic Party, a key Sunni parliamentary group.
Iraq's ongoing sectarian conflict has seen dozens of Sunni and Shiite mosques destroyed in tit-for-tat attacks.
Mahmud called on the Shiites to review their policies to "help strengthen official institutions as the Shiites now rule the country."
"If the call from Moqtada al-Sadr serves that objective it would be okay," he said.
The Sunni Muslim Scholars Association, a religious body accused of having links with anti-US Sunni insurgent groups, gave a mixed reaction to Sadr's ban.
"If the [Mehdi] Army drops resisting the occupiers, then it would be a wrong decision and Sayid Moqtada or anyone else has no right to give such an order," association spokesman Mohammed Bashar al-Faydhi said.
But if the "order is meant to stop the bloody activities of the Army against innocent people and displace and kill them, then it is a sound decision."
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS