Fallujah cautioned as Iraq pledges amnesty on arms

IRAQ’S interim government will declare a nationwide arms amnesty next week, but insists the city of Fallujah must turn in foreign militants or face assault, National Security Adviser Kassim Daoud said yesterday.

Daoud would not be drawn on the timing of a Fallujah offensive if the city did not hand over militants led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, America’s top enemy in Iraq. “We have a timetable and we will stick to it,” he said.

Addressing Iraqi lawmakers, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi confirmed the nationwide arms handover, a plan that, depending on its success, could point to the government’s ability to organise nationwide polls by the end of January.

US forces released Fallujah’s chief negotiator, whom they detained last Friday, after battles and air strikes on the edge of the rebel-held Sunni Muslim stronghold west of Baghdad.

The interim government has vowed to crack down on insurgents and pacify Iraq before the January election.

In a country awash with guns, Iraqis are permitted one AK-47 per household and handguns are largely overlooked. But many families possess more than one weapon.

It was unclear whether money would be exchanged for weapons under the new amnesty.

Previous gun amnesties since last year’s US-led invasion of Iraq have involved heavier weapons.