Naseer Al-Nahr, Asharq Al-Awsat

BAGHDAD, 24 September 2003 — Iraq’s Governing Council said yesterday it would limit the operations of two Arab satellite channels it accused of “encouraging terrorism”.

The council said the temporary move against Qatar-based Al-Jazeera and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya was intended as a clear message to other channels that might stir unrest among Iraqis. But it stopped short of a threatened full ban.

US forces face daily attacks from guerrilla fighters seeking to drive them from Iraq. Dissatisfaction with the occupation is aggravated by grave shortcomings in many basic services such as water and electricity.

“Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya have breached the guidelines by endangering stability and democracy and by encouraging terrorism,” the council said in a statement.

“The Governing Council has decided as a warning and a temporary measure to ban Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya from covering council activities and official press conferences, and to deny their correspondents access to ministries and council buildings for two weeks,” the council said in a statement. The council would closely monitor the channels’ output, it added.

A spokesman for the council chairman earlier said the two stations’ Iraqi operations would be closed down temporarily, for promoting political violence and putting “terrorists” on their screens.

The administration has promised media freedom in Iraq, and says it will close media outlets only if they are guilty of inciting violence.

Meanwhile, three Iraqis were killed yesterday in US military operations.

Witnesses said that US tanks surrounded the village of Al-Sijr, north of the flashpoint town of Fallujah, and troops opened fire before helicopters launched missiles.

Hospital officials identified three Iraqis killed in the incident, but in a conflicting account, the US military said its troops had come under attack north of Fallujah and returned fire, killing one Iraqi.