Islamic groups demand release of kidnapped aid workers in Iraq

Islamic scholars and groups from the Middle East and Asia attending a conference in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, have issued a joint statement demanding the immediate release of four kidnapped aid workers in Iraq. “We, the undersigned, call for the immediate release of the four western peace activists who were kidnapped in Iraq last week. We have been saddened by the kidnapping of these peace activists whose only mission in Iraq has been to express solidarity with the Iraqi people and see for themselves the devastating effects of the U.S. invasion of Iraq,” the statement said. On 26 November, two Canadians, a US and British citizen were kidnapped by an Iraqi militant group calling itself the Swords of Truth, which accused them of being spies. The kidnappers threatened to kill the hostages by Friday evening unless certain Iraqi prisoners held by US and local forces were released. The hostage takers also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq. “They were intending to return home to inform the public opinion in their own countries about the destruction and havoc brought about by the invasion of Iraq by the United States of America and its allies,” the statement added. The statement was issued by more than 25 Islamic groups from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, India and Pakistan. It was released during a conference discussing the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories organised by the Al-Quds International Foundation and held in the Yemeni capital. Mohammed Qathan, head of the political branch of Al-Islah Party, the second largest political party in Yemen attending the conference, told IRIN in Sana’a that killing the aid workers would be "inhumane and un-Islamic". “Such peace activists should have been welcomed into Iraq and treated as honourable guests instead of being kidnapped and used as a bargaining chip. Neither the hostages nor the organisation they represent possess the means of forcing the occupation authorities to free the Iraqis held in its detention centres across Iraq,” the statement said.