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Baghdad angered by anti-gov't meeting in Qatar: statement

Xinhua, September 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Iraqi government was outraged on Sunday as a meeting earlier in Qatar was attended by some Iraqi outlaws on alleged terror charges, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was held in the Qatari capital Doha a few days ago, which was attended by some Sunni Arab politicians and dignitaries, including members of the banned Saddam Hussein Bath party and the powerful Islamic Army militant group which fought the U.S. troops in Iraq and the Shiite-dominated Iraqi forces as well.

Unconfirmed reports said that Tariq al-Hashimi, Iraq's former Sunni vice president who was sentenced to death over terrorism, and Sunni Finance Minister Rafie al-Essawi were also among the attendees.

Iraq warned that "such wrong step is a bad precedent, a blatant interference in Iraqi internal affairs and a clear violation of the principles of bilateral relations."

It condemned the meeting which was attended by "individuals wanted by the Iraqi judiciary on charges of terrorism and cooperation with terrorist organizations."

"While the Iraqi Foreign Ministry is waiting for explanation from the Qatari side, it clarifies that any conference on the internal affairs of Iraq held away from the knowledge of the Iraqi government is rejected," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on social media that the meeting in Qatar "came without coordination with Iraq, as the matter is an Iraqi affair and affects the Iraqi sovereignty." Endit