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REBEL GROUP THREATENS IRAQI CHRISTIANS OVER SIEGE

Saturday, April 10, 2004
By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

DUBAI (ANS) -- A rebel group in the besieged Iraqi town of Falluja has threatened to target Christians and destroy churches. The group called on Pope John Paul and the United Nations to stop the U.S. siege, Al Arabiya television reported.

Reuters reported that the Dubai-based Arab television channel said the threats came in a fax it received from a group in Falluja called ‘Saraya wal Mujahideen’ (Brigades and Mujahideen).

It was not clear if it was the same group as the one holding Japanese hostages in Iraq.

The group threatened to destroy churches in return for U.S. attacks on mosques, assassinate or kidnap priests, and target Christians if killing of Muslims did not stop, Al Arabiya said.

"They issued a statement calling on the U.N. secretary general, Pope John Paul II and all Christian groups to intervene immediately to end the siege of Falluja and all Iraqi cities," Reuters reported Al Arabiya's anchor said. No additional details were provided.

According to Reuters there were indications Saturday that rebels in Falluja were willing to agree to cease-fire talks if U.S. Marines withdrew to outside the city. A delegation representing Iraq's U.S.-backed Governing Council and other Sunni leaders was able to visit Falluja for talks with religious and anti-U.S. leaders.

Iraq, a mainly Muslim country with a Christian minority, has seen a surge in fighting. Hundreds of Iraqis and 52 U.S. or allied troops have been killed in a week of battles with Sunni and Shi'ite militias, Reuters reported.

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in intercultural education at Biola University in Los Angeles. He is married with five children and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at reynalds@joyjunction.org. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A black and white JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at assistcomm@cs.com.

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net

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