Red Mosque Peace Efforts Collapse
Siege Enters Fifth Day Without Resolution
By Griff Witte
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 7 -- Positions hardened in the standoff at the Red Mosque on Saturday, as a peace effort collapsed amid a hail of gunfire and President Pervez Musharraf called on Islamic radicals hunkered down inside to surrender or face death.
The siege entered its fifth day Saturday, and there was no resolution in sight. The militants seemed determined to continue fighting rather than lay down their weapons. The government, meanwhile, has refused to negotiate and has said it will accept nothing less than unconditional surrender.
"If they don't surrender, I'm saying it here, they will be killed," Musharraf told reporters in his first public comments on the siege.
Musharraf said he believed that the government had "shown great patience because we don't want people to be killed. We could have done everything. The government has the power, but there are women and children."
When a delegation of politicians from a far-right religious party attempted to enter the mosque Saturday with hopes of mediating, it got caught in crossfire between security forces and militants, and was forced to withdraw. One of the politicians was later arrested for allegedly trying to bring food and water inside the mosque compound.
The government has been trying to force the militants to surrender by depriving them of food, water and electricity.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Red Mosque Peace Efforts Collapse
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment