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Iraq' PM offers amnesty for gunmen in Mosul |
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10:01, May 17, 2008 |
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki offered members of armed groups in Mosul an amnesty in exchange for weapons, his office said in a statement on Friday.
It said that the gunmen have only ten days to show up and hand over their heavy and medium weapons. Besides amnesty, the tradeoff also includes an unspecified amount of money.
The statement said that the gunmen can hand over their arms to the security forces or tribal leaders in their areas.
It said that the amnesty covers those who had been "duped" into taking up arms against the government as long as they are not involved in committing crimes against civilians.
The Iraqi security forces launched last Saturday an offensive dubbed "The Operation Lion's Roar" against al-Qaida and other insurgent groups.
Hundreds of Iraqi troops have been deployed through the city's neighborhoods and raided dozens of targets believed to be involved in terrorist attacks against Iraqi security forces and civilians.
On Wednesday, Maliki and his top aides flew to Mosul to oversee the offensive and ordered to change the name of the offensive to "The Mother of the Two Springs."
Maliki vowed in January to uproot al-Qaida members in the province where they were believed to be regrouped after being defeated in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.
Source:Xinhua
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