Shi'ites demand autonomy for south Iraq

With four days left until Iraq's leaders have promised a draft Constitution, powerful Islamist leaders made a dramatic bid yesterday to have a big, autonomous Shi'ite region across the oil-rich south. The head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic...

With four days left until Iraq's leaders have promised a draft Constitution, powerful Islamist leaders made a dramatic bid yesterday to have a big, autonomous Shi'ite region across the oil-rich south.

The head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) spelled out his demands to tens of thousands of chanting supporters in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.

But minority Sunni and secular opponents, as well as rival Shi'ite Islamists in the coalition national government, swiftly poured cold water on an idea that fuelled fears about sectarian battles over oil and Iranian-style religious rule in the south.

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