Iraq set for new Charter, 70 killed in US airstrikes
Foreign Desk Report
BAGHDAD—US fighter jets and attack helicopters killed about 70 militants
around the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, the military said on Monday
after a landmark vote that appears to have ratified a new constitution.
Election officials slowly counted up to 10 million ballots from
Saturday’s referendum, with partial results pointing to a clear win for
a charter Washington hopes will help establish Iraq as a stable
democracy able to do without US troops.
The violence in Ramadi, a rebellious city about 110 km (68 miles) west
of Baghdad, highlighted the challenge posed by Sunni Arab insurgents
bitterly opposed to the constitution. Few people in Ramadi voted, yet
for the first time, many Sunnis elsewhere in Iraq took part in the
referendum, even if a large majority of them voted “No,” provisional
figures show.
A US military statement said the Ramadi battle occurred on Sunday and
involved US jets, helicopters and ground troops. It said at least 20
militants were killed when an F-15 aircraft bombed a group of men
burying a roadside bomb — one of the deadliest weapons in the insurgent
arsenal.
Another 50 insurgents were killed in a series of separate strikes, the
statement added, saying military commanders had no indications of any US
or civilian casualties in the operation.
Bassem al-Dulaimi, a doctor, told Reuters on Sunday that his hospital in
Ramadi had received 25 dead and eight wounded following the air strikes;
it was unclear if any were civilians.
“The planes came and bombed us right after prayers,” one man shouted on
Monday as others buried bodies in the desert near Ramadi. “What is this
barbarism? This is not a government. These are innocent civilians. To
hell with this constitution”.
US President George W. Bush hailed the Iraqi vote, which went off amid
tight security, almost without bloodshed in the absence of insurgent
attacks the US military had predicted. “This is a very positive day for
the Iraqi people and as well for world peace,” Bush told reporters in
Washington.
“Democracies are peaceful countries.” US officials have
sought to portray the vote as a sign that Iraq is moving toward
full-fledged democracy, which they hope will reduce support for the
Sunni Arab insurrection and allow the eventual withdrawal of 156,000 US
troops.
Six more US soldiers were killed in the Sunni Arab-dominated west of the
country over the weekend, bringing the total US toll to 1,971 since the
2003 invasion.
Iraqi electoral officials said as many as 63 percent of eligible voters
cast ballots in Saturday’s election, above the 58 percent seen in
January, when many Sunnis boycotted the first elections after the fall
of Saddam Hussein, who is a Sunni.
Poll officials in Baghdad said they were still re-counting ballots which
had been trucked to the capital under heavy security from polling
stations around the country.
Adel Alami, a senior official with the electoral commission, said the
process was moving forward but certified results could be days away. “It
will last for several days until the results are collected from all
provinces,” he told reporters. Partial results released by local
officials showed the measure had passed despite high turnout in some
Sunni areas where opposition to the constitution ran strongest.
Sunnis make up just 20 percent of the population and fear the new
constitution will hand control of the country and its oil resources to
the Shi’ite majority and its Kurdish allies.
According to the referendum rules, a two-thirds “No” vote in three of
Iraq’s 18 provinces would block the constitution even if most Iraqis
backed it. But by late Sunday it appeared that only two provinces had
returned a potentially blocking “No” vote, making the chances of a veto
remote.
Most Shi’ite and Kurdish-dominated provinces were running heavily in
favor of the constitution. Anbar province around Ramadi was expected to
strongly reject it, as was Salahaddin province, which contains Saddam’s
hometown of Tikrit.
The contest was closer in the northern province of Niniveh around the
city of Mosul, which is split between Sunni Arabs and Kurds. A senior
Iraqi official said on Monday that while 424,00 of the province’s
778,000 voters said “No” to the charter, this fell short of the two
thirds necessary to reject it.
Kurdish leaders, who originally inserted the three-province veto clause
to protect their own interests, have denied Arab accusations of packing
Mosul with Kurdish voters. With new parliamentary elections now set for
December 15, Iraq’s bitter political negotiations look likely to
continue.
Last-minute concessions by Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders aimed at securing
Sunni support for the document mean that many of its key clauses are
open to amendment — leaving political leaders scrambling once again to
satisfy their rival constituencies. |
