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IRAQ WARS
Sadrists take to Iraq's streets in demos
by Staff Writers
Baghdad (AFP) Sept 16, 2011

Thousands of supporters of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rallied in Baghdad and south Iraq on Friday to decry graft and poor public services, holding up broken appliances to highlight their plight.

In the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in the capital, protesters also railed against the US military presence in Iraq and held up pictures of their leader alongside Iraqi flags, while demonstrations also took place in several central and southern cities.

"We demand the provision of services and electricity -- we will demonstrate forever, we will demonstrate until death," said Attiya Jumaa, a 65-year-old protester dressed in traditional robes in Sadr City.

"We demand the government provide services and fulfill all our demands immediately -- immediately!"

Several thousand protesters in the north Baghdad neighbourhood gathered on carpets following Friday prayers and shouted: "We want! We want! We want! Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!"

Some hoisted Iraqi flags, but several held up broken fans, fridge doors, lamps and electric heaters to illustrate the lack of electricity, a common refrain among Iraqis who decry a lack of improvement to public services more than eight years after the ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Protesters also slapped their palms against two coffins bearing slogans that called for the country's oil revenues to be better allocated, and for a ration card programme, which distributes food to all Iraqis, to be better implemented.

Similar protests took place in the southern cities of Basra, Nasiriyah, Kut and Kufa, as well as in towns in the central province of Diyala.

In the southern port city of Basra, more than 2,000 protesters demonstrated after Friday prayers, some carrying empty jute bags for rice and oil lanterns, again highlighting frustration over ration cards and electricity.

And in Kut, around 3,000 Sadr supporters rallied in the city centre and marched to the provincial council headquarters.

In Kufa, twin city to the holy Shiite city of Najaf where Sadr's office is headquartered, thousands of the cleric's supporters, including religious leaders and members of Iraq's parliament, took to the streets.

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Iraq recovers $216 million from Saddam officials
Baghdad (AFP) Sept 17, 2011 - Iraq has recovered $216 million in the past month from bank accounts overseas belonging to two Saddam-era officials, the country's anti-graft watchdog said in a statement seen on Saturday.

The Commission on Integrity reclaimed $116 million from accounts in France, it said in a statement issued Thursday, in addition to $100 million retained from Kuwait in August.

The funds comprised $106 million deposited in UBAF, a French-registered bank whose shareholders include 19 Arab banks and Credit Agricole, and the equivalent of $10 million in foreign currency deposited in several banks in France.

The anti-corruption watchdog said in the statement published on Thursday that the accounts had been registered "under one of the former regime members," but did not say which Saddam Hussein-era official.

On August 22, the Commission on Integrity issued a statement saying it had recovered slightly more than $100 million held under the name of an ex-regime official in neighbouring Kuwait.

It said in both instances that it had obtained the funds with the help of the US embassy in Baghdad.

The announcement comes after the anti-corruption watchdog's former chief stepped down earlier this month, citing political interference in his work.

He slammed Iraq's leaders following his resignation, describing graft as "part of the struggle for power" in the country.





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IRAQ WARS
Iraq arrests eight over slaying of Shiite pilgrims
Karbala, Iraq (AFP) Sept 15, 2011
Police arrested at least eight people on Thursday in connection with the murder of 22 Shiite Muslim pilgrims en route to Syria from a holy city in south Iraq, officials said. The victims had been passengers on a bus on Monday evening from the shrine city of Karbala passing through Anbar province, long a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq, when their vehicle was ... read more


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