Hakim

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BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Shiite cleric who has denounced the American occupation of Iraq is attempting to generate public support for his own self-ordained government, a hodgepodge of ministries aimed at usurping power from the Iraqi Governing Council. Moqtada Sadr, a firebrand who in postwar Iraq has roused crowds in the poorest neighborhood in Baghdad, announced during Friday prayers that he was creating his own government after continued clashes between Shiite Muslims and U.S. troops. Yesterday, officials from the Iraqi Governing Council and the U.S.-led coalition dismissed Sadr's ability to win over much of the Iraqi public and questioned whether his political moves would stir up trouble even in the vulnerable and volatile neighborhood of Sadr City.

BAGHDAD -- The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite political party said yesterday that the neighborhood patrols credited with calming many Sunni areas must submit to government authority and include a broader sectarian mix. The comments by the political leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, reflected growing resistance among many Shiites to the neighborhood groups, also known as Awakening Councils, which are almost exclusively...

BAGHDAD -- The leader of Iraq's most influential Shiite party offered surprisingly conciliatory remarks yesterday about the former insurgents and other Sunni Arabs who have banded together into militias to work with U.S. forces, stating that the groups had helped improve security and should be continued. In a speech in Najaf, the Shiite holy city, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the party that has long been the backbone of the main Shiite political alliance, said a major reason for recent security improvements was not merely a dependence on official security forces but also a reliance on tribal groups and local councils.

LONDON - Opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein opened a conference here yesterday in hopes of forming a united front and planning for a transitional government that would prevent the United States from imposing its vision on a post-Hussein Iraq. Although there is plenty of dissension among the conference's 330 delegates about how and when such a transitional government should be formed, a string of speakers from across the opposition's political spectrum expressed unanimity in their demand that the United States leave Iraq's political future to Iraqis.

Tomorrow's games Indianapolis at Detroit COLTS: Out: G Tupe Peko (ankle); S Bob Sanders (knee). Doubtful: G Rick DeMulling (chest); LB Gilbert Gardner (hamstring). Questionable: WR Troy Walters (upper arm fracture). Probable: CB Nick Harper (shoulder); CB Joseph Jefferson (knee); DE Robert Mathis (groin); K Mike Vanderjagt (groin). LIONS: Out: LB Boss Bailey (knee). Questionable: WR Az-Zahir Hakim (hip). Probable: WR Eddie Drummond (knee); DT Cory Redding (hamstring); DT Shaun Rogers (neck)

Keith Adams, LB, Clemson, Jr. Hakim Akbar, S, Washington, Jr. Michael Bennett, RB, Wisconsin, Jr. Josh Booty, QB, LSU, Jr. John Capel, WR, Florida, Soph. Quincy Carter, QB, Georgia, Jr. Nate Clements, CB, Ohio State, Jr. Ronney Daniels, WR, Auburn, Soph. Heath Evans, FB, Auburn, Jr. Robert Ferguson, WR, Texas A&M, Jr. Jamar Fletcher, CB, Wisconsin, Jr. Renaldo Hill, CB, Michigan State, Sr. Rudi Johnson, RB, Auburn, Jr. Willie Middlebrooks, CB, Minnesota, Jr. Freddie Mitchell, WR, UCLA, Jr. Ryan Pickett, DT, Ohio State, Jr. Dominic Raiola, C, Nebraska, Jr. Koren Robinson, WR, N.C. State, Soph.

What would you do if you gave a party for someone who then wasn't able to make it? You might spend the time with your other guests talking about the missing honoree and his accomplishments. That's exactly what members of Oyo Traditions, a Baltimore Afrocentric cultural arts organization, did when Chief Ogundiya of Nigeria could not make the party.Oyo sponsored a Baltimore visit for the African traditional healer, but hours before his scheduled welcoming reception at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center, the organization learned that he wouldn't be able to make it. That didn't keep party guests from coming, and discussing the African religion of Ogun, in which Ogun-diya is a chief priest.

GREENBELT - A federal grand jury indicted a Silver Spring woman yesterday on murder charges in the death of a U.S. Park Police officer who was struck and killed Aug. 10 at the scene of an earlier fatal accident on Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Jovada P. Welch, 20, was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and related traffic offenses, including driving under the influence. She was charged in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt because the victim, Hakim Farthing, was a federal officer and the incident occurred on federal land.

Baghdad -- In direct confrontation with the American-backed government in Iraq, thousands of supporters of the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia took to the streets of Baghdad yesterday to protest the Iraqi army's assault on the southern port city of Basra, as intense fighting continued there for a third day. In Basra, there seemed to be no breakthrough in the fighting by either side. As much as half of the city remained under militia control, hospitals in some parts of the city were reported full, and the violence continued to spread.