Sunnis Donate Blood To Shiites Az Zaman

Sunnis Donate blood to Shiites

Az-Zaman: In the Sunni city of Fallujah, mosque officials with microphones urged citizens to donate blood to the victims of the bombing at Kazimiyah. In in the Sunni district of Azamiyah in Baghdad, where the bridge was blocked that leads over the river to the Shiite quarter of Kazimiyah, appeals were also made over microphones for the Sunni inhabitants to save their brethren in Kazimiyah by donating blood. Hundreds of youth heeded the call and volunteered. Drivers volunteered to transport more than a thousand such volunteers. (The Shiites of Kazimiyah and the Sunnis of Azamiyah have an old rivalry and their youth gangs have often fought in the streets. There was trouble between the two last fall when Saddam was captured).

Although these Sunnis showed unwonted enthusiasm for helping the Shiites, they placed the blame for what happened solidly on the Coalition. They fear that the US intends to partition Iraq.

If az-Zaman is right about the sentiments of national unity generated by the bombing, it may have been the biggest mistake yet of the guerrilla insurgents.