Shi'ite Leader Rejects Annan Idea For Iraqi Conference

SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim (file photo) (epa) December 2, 2006 -- A senior Iraqi Shi'ite leader rejected a suggestion by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to hold an international conference on Iraq.

Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, whose Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) runs a Shi'ite militia backed by Iran, said today the suggestion is "illegal" and "unrealistic."


Annan said last week an international conference on Iraq could be useful if the groundwork was carefully prepared and all the political parties could be brought together somewhere outside Iraq.


Al-Hakim was speaking at a news conference in Amman, Jordan.


(AP)

RFE/RL Iraq Report

RFE/RL Iraq Report


SUBSCRIBE For weekly news and analysis on Iraq by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Iraq Report."