Iraq's leadership says militants seeking talks - Boston.com - Middle East - News

Iraq's leadership says militants seeking talks - Boston.com - Middle East - News: "Iraq's leadership says militants seeking talks



June 12, 2005



BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government said on Sunday that some rebels had approached it looking for peace terms and repeated its willingness to negotiate with groups which renounced violence and which had not killed Iraqis.



Government spokesman Laith Kubba, speaking at a regular news conference, gave no details of who had made contact.



While many nationalist guerrillas concentrate their attacks on U.S. occupying forces, high-profile groups like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq would appear to be excluded from any dealings with the government because they have mounted bloody assaults on Iraqi civilians and security forces.



'Many have been trying to open channels to talk in recent weeks,' Kubba said. 'Some were calling directly, saying 'We did not kill any Iraqis but took up arms to resist the occupation and want to participate in the political process.'



'To those who have not carried out any killings of Iraqis and who are willing to give up violence and intend to take part in the political process, the door is open.'



The Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has often said it is willing to talk to rebels who stop fighting. Most insurgents, who have killed more than 850 people in the couple of months since the government was formed, are drawn from Saddam Hussein's once-dominant Sunni minority.



Some, like Zarqawi himself, come from other Arab countries. "