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Iraqi armed groups set terms for truce
Eleven armed groups opposed to the Iraqi government, working through mediators, have offered to immediately stop attacks on US-led forces in Iraq if a two-year timetable for the withdrawal of US soldiers is set, AP reports.
They are demanding that the Iraqi government and Washington set the timetable.
Eight of the eleven groups that have approached Nuri al-Maliki's government have banded together under the umbrella of The 1920 Revolution Brigade.
All 11, however, have issued identical demands, said the groups' representatives and government officials.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information and for fear of retribution.
The groups do not include the powerful Islamic Army in Iraq, Muhammad Army and the Mujahidin Shura Council, an umbrella for eight groups including al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Most of the 11 groups operate north and north-east of Baghdad in increasingly violent Salahuddin and Diyala provinces.
Numbers unknown
The total number of anti-US fighters is not known, nor is it known how many men belong to each group.
But there are believed to be about two dozen organisations, meaning the 11 that are in contact with the government represent nearly half of the known groups.
A key Sunni politician, however, predicted a big majority of anti-US fighters could be enticed to the negotiation table.
More
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4DBC4029-D524-4831-AE29-692892EAB6B0.htm
Eight of the eleven groups that have approached Nuri al-Maliki's government have banded together under the umbrella of The 1920 Revolution Brigade.
All 11, however, have issued identical demands, said the groups' representatives and government officials.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information and for fear of retribution.
The groups do not include the powerful Islamic Army in Iraq, Muhammad Army and the Mujahidin Shura Council, an umbrella for eight groups including al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Most of the 11 groups operate north and north-east of Baghdad in increasingly violent Salahuddin and Diyala provinces.
Numbers unknown
The total number of anti-US fighters is not known, nor is it known how many men belong to each group.
But there are believed to be about two dozen organisations, meaning the 11 that are in contact with the government represent nearly half of the known groups.
A key Sunni politician, however, predicted a big majority of anti-US fighters could be enticed to the negotiation table.
More
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4DBC4029-D524-4831-AE29-692892EAB6B0.htm
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