British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on a surprise visit to Baghdad, today pledged his full support for Iraq's prime minister and urged neighboring countries not to undermine Nuri al-Maliki's government.
Blair said he and al-Maliki discussed the need for national reconciliation, building up Iraq's security forces, and "the importance of the support of all countries in the region for this process."
"I think it's important that we exercise all the pressure and authority that we can have to make sure that all countries in the region are supporting Iraq and supporting its people and its democracy,"Â Blair said. "There is a very strong obligation -- which is set in the United Nations resolution -- for all countries in the region to be supportive of the prime minister and his government and the Iraqi people and not undermine them. I can assure you that during the course of not just this visit but the weeks and month ahead I will be making that very clear and I believe that the international community should do the same."
Gruesome Discoveries
Iraqi police said today they had found the bodies of 53 executed men in Baghdad. The date of the killing was not announced.
In the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala, police on December 16 found a grave holding more than 30 bodies apparently killed by the regime of former President Saddam Hussein in 1991.
The same day, three U.S. soldiers were killed north of Baghdad.
In the Iraqi capital Baghdad today, gunmen wearing police uniforms reportedly kidnapped at least 10 people after storming a branch of the Red Crescent Society.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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