Britain Voices Support for 'Uprising' in Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 27, 2003

Britain Voices Support for 'Uprising' in Iraq

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that Britain would give support to any "uprising" in Iraq although reports of uprising in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, are confused.

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that Britain would give support to any "uprising" in Iraq although reports of uprising in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, are confused.

British commanders outside Basra have reported that some sort of insurrection occurred Tuesday in the city, but they have been unable to confirm details.

"In relation to what has happened in Basra overnight, truthfully reports are confused, but we believe there was some limited form of uprising," Blair told the House of Commons, lower house of parliament.

If any Iraqis wanted to rebel, "we shall be ready to support them," Blair said. But he warned that allied forces had to be careful to have the right support in place to help them before encouraging any uprising.

He also said that a major rebellion by Iraqis against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein may be "some way off."

Iraqis would wait until it was clear that Saddam's government had been overthrown, he added.

US and British planners have hoped that a popular rebellion would speed the end of Saddam's government.

However, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf late Tuesday denied reports that a popular uprising was under way in the southern city of Basra.

"I categorically deny these provocative lies the Americans are trying to spread through CNN," Sahhaf said in a statement to Al Jazeera TV. "These are lies issued by the US administration and British government...with the aim of demoralizing" the Iraqi population, he added.

When asked whether troops were overstretched, Blair said he was informed that there were sufficient troops in Iraq and he believed the US administration shared the same view.

Blair, the staunchest US ally on disarming Iraq, was to fly to Washington for talks on Iraq with US President George W. Bush at Camp David later in the day.

Blair was expected to discuss with Bush the military campaign, humanitarian assistance and possible steps to heal the rift between the United States and key European allies including France and Germany.

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