US Marines of the 1st Division prepare for a patrol outside Fallujah, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004. American forces are preparing for a major assault on Fallujah in an effort to restore control to a swath of Sunni Muslim towns north and west of the capital ahead of crucial national elections due by Jan. 31. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is seen during a meeting with Sunni Muslim clerics at his offices in Baghdad's 'Green Zone.' The standoff between the interim Iraqi government and insurgents in the rebel city of Fallujah has entered its "final phase," Iraq's interim prime minister Iyad Allawi said, warning of imminent military action.(AFP/Awad Awad)
Fallujah standoff has entered final phase, warns Iraqi PM
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The standoff between the interim Iraqi government and insurgents in the rebel city of Fallujah has entered its "final phase," Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim prime minister Iyad Allawi said, warning of imminent military action.
The tough-talking prime minister laid out three conditions that would spare Fallujah a military showdown insisting that the government was not negotiating or bargaining with any party over its legitimate right to assert its authority in the flashpoint city.
"We have entered the final phase to solve the Fallujah problem," Allawi told reporters in a grave tone.
"If we cannot solve it peacefully, I have no choice but to take military action. I will do so with a heavy heart."
Allawi said he met on Saturday night with religious and tribal leaders from the Sunni Muslim insurgency bastions of Fallujah and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and from the northern city of Mosul.
He said all wanted the government to assert its authority in these hotspots.
"Terrorists have taken the people of Fallujah hostage and we are determined to eliminate this terror centre."
The prime minister laid out three conditions that would spare Fallujah and other rebel cities military action as his government appeared determined to subdue the vicious insurgency ahead of January's elections.
These include the exit of foreign fighters and insurgents, the handover of heavy- and medium-sized weapons and allowing the government to begin the process of reconstruction in these cities.
"The people of Fallujah can hand over the foreign fighters and insurgents, kick them out or allow Iraqi forces to go in and do the job," said Allawi flanked by Kassim Daoud, his national security advisor.
Allawi became visibly upset when pressed about the status of negotiations between a government-backed group from the country's interim parliament and delegates from Fallujah.
"Your question is wrong, there are no negotiations with Fallujah. Fallujah is part of Iraq and we are working with the people of Fallujah and other nationalists all over Iraq to rid them of the killers," snapped Allawi.
"We cannot stand by while killers slaughter innocent Iraqis."
The talks between national council members and Fallujah community leaders appear to be a last ditch effort to avert a military showdown.
"We will put our hand in their hand if they really have the influence to solve the problem peacefully," Allawi said.
"But the window is closing for a peaceful settlement."
Previous direct talks between government ministers and Fallujah delegates collapsed in mid-October after Allawi issued a warning to the city to handover suspected Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or face an assault.
"The Iraqi government is still holding the olive branch ... but there will be no dialogue with Zarqawi, (Osama) bin Laden and former regime loyalists."
Since October 14, US troops have encircled Fallujah, where the military has repeatedly launched air strikes and some limited ground incursions.
Both the Iraqi and US governments say Fallujah is in the grip of operatives loyal to Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who has a 25-million-dollar bounty for his killing or capture.
He is accused of some of the worst attacks in the violence-plagued country over the past few months.
Allawi said some of the deadliest recent attacks in Iraq were plotted and carried out by militants from Fallujah including the execution one week ago of 49 unarmed army recruits and three of their drivers in eastern Iraq.
He softened remarks made on Tuesday blaming the killings on "gross negligence" by US-led forces and promised to unveil shortly the results of a government investigation.
"We are facing a ruthless enemy bent on killing us," warned Allawi.
U.S. Marine Pfc. John Lukac, 19, of Las Vegas, in this undated photo, was among nine Marines killed Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, when a car bomb went off next to a truck outside Fallujah in the Anbar province of Iraq. (AP Photo/U.S. Marine Corps)
Lance Cpl. Jeremy D. Bow of Lemoore, Calif., is shown in this undated photo. Bow, 20, was one of eight Marines killed Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, by enemy action in Iraq, the Pentagon said Monday. (AP Photo/U.S. Marine Corps)
Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel of Northglenn, Colo., is shown in this undated photo. Riedel, 19, was one of eight Marines killed Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, by enemy action in Iraq, the Pentagon said Monday. (AP Photo/U.S. Marine Corps)
US Marines of the 1st Division line up for a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
US Marines of the 1st Division bow their heads during a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
US Marines of the 1st Division line up for a joined prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)