WW4 Report

Iraq: more Shi'ite pilgrims killed

A suicide car bomber barreled into a flatbed truck packed with some 70 Shi'ite pilgrims March 11, leaving at least 32 dead. The latest attacks followed a week in which hundreds of Shi'ite pilgrims were killed trying to reach the holy city of Karbala for Ashura celebrations. The exodus faces the same risks. Blasts killed at least 15 others in Baghdad, a day after Iraqi officials warned an international conference that the sectarian violence could spread across the Middle East if not quelled. Outside the capital, militants attacked residents and set about 30 houses on fire in the mixed Sunni-Shi'ite city Muqdadiyah, Diyala province, forcing dozens of families to flee. Victims from both sects blamed the "Islamic State of Iraq," a Sunni militant organization that has taken over several other towns in the area. Residents said the organization had recently demanded money, weapons and oaths of support from the local populace. (NYT, AP, March 12)

Dalai Lama: continue struggle for Tibet autonomy

Via Save Tibet, dated March 10:

The Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Forty-Eighth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising
On the occasion of the forty-eighth anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising in Lhasa in 1959, I offer my prayers and tribute to all those Tibetans who have suffered and sacrificed their lives for the cause of the Tibetan people. I also express my solidarity with those who are presently suffering repression and imprisonment.

Tibetans march in NYC

From Phayul.com, March 11 (links added):

NEW YORK - As the Tibetans all over the world commemorate the 48th Tibetan National Uprising day hundreds of Tibetans walked with pro-independence banners, placards and Tibetan national flags in the heart of New York city. Students for a Free Tibet, regional Tibetan Youth Congress chapters of New York and New Jersey led the rally which began from Brooklyn this morning.

Algeria: Islamist insurgency back on?

Abu Abduallah Ahmad, financial officer of the so-called "al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb," confirmed to AlJazeera's Morocco office that his group was responsible for two attacks in Algeria over the March 3-4 weekend that killed seven police and four Russian gas pipeline workers. Said Ahmad: "We, al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, claim responsibility for the bombing of the bus of the Russians, who fight Islam and its followers and our brothers in Chechnya. We ask the Muslim Algerian people, to keep away from the infidels and tyrant posts to avoid future attacks."

New coalition bridges Iraq war, climate change

From No War, No Warming:

Fight Climate Change, Not Wars for Oil!
It’s time to bridge the divide between the peace movement and the climate action movement. For far too long, our groups have been working on one or the other of these issues, but now is the time to acknowledge the ways in which these issues are linked and the need for people throughout the world to take action to end both war and climate change!

Iraq: teachers strike in Sadr City

From the Iraq Freedom Congress, March 6:

Iraq Freedom Congress supports the Teachers Strike in Althawra (Sadr City)
A strike by education staff of more than 21 high schools that began last week continues into its second week. School staff, concerned about safety, wages and inflation, have raised their demands to the Ministry of Education.

Iraq: civil resistance Safety Force averts terror attack

From the Iraq Freedom Congress, March 6:

The Safety Force Save Tens of Innocent Lives in Baghdad
The IFC Safety Force discovered that a car parked in Babalsharqi region in the middle of Baghdad was rigged for detonation and was to be blown up in the morning when people arrived for work and shopping.

Military families oppose Pelosi plan

From Military Families Speak Out, March 8:

Military Families Oppose House Democratic Leadership Plan for Iraq
MFSO Says Pelosi Plan Condemns at Least 1,500 Troops to Death

Washington D.C. — Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), an organization of over 3,200 military families who are opposed to the war in Iraq, expressed dismay and outrage at the plan unveiled by House Democrats today that would delay the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops until the fall of 2008.

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