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DAMASCUS (AFP) - Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) chief Nayef Hawatmeh on Friday urged Hamas to renounce its control of the Gaza Strip and Fatah to stop talks with Israel and open inter-Palestinian negotiations instead. "Hamas must renounce its control over Gaza and Abu Mazen (Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas) must stop talking to Israel so that comprehensive Palestinian negotiations can be opened," he said in a speech at the Yarmuk refugee camp near Damascus.

Iraqis: 'Surge' Is a Catastrophe - by Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail : "BAGHDAD - What the US has been calling the success of a 'surge,' many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where US forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence. And when US forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about. Hundreds died in a series of explosions in Baghdad last month. This was despite the strongest ever security measures taken by the US military, riding the 'surge' in security forces and their activities. The death toll is high, according to the website icasualties.org, which provides reliable numbers of Iraqi civilian and security deaths. In January this year 485 civilians were killed, according to the website. It says the number is based on news reports, and that 'actual totals for Iraqi deaths are higher than the numbers recorded on this site.' The average month in 2005, before the &#

British soldiers executed up to 20 Iraqi detainees, say witnesses - Middle East, World - Independent.co.uk : "British soldiers in Iraq may have tortured, mutilated and executed up to 20 Iraqi detainees four years ago, according to five Iraqi civilians who say they saw the murders. Lawyers acting for the five men produced a dossier yesterday which alleges the British Army executed the detainees at the Abu Naji military base where they had been taken after a three-hour gun battle near the southern Iraqi town of Majat-al-Kabir in May 2004."

Garowe Online - Home : "BAIDOA, Somalia Feb 20 (Garowe Online) - A convoy of Ethiopian army trucks came under fire in central Somalia Wednesday as insurgents sought to expand their guerrilla attacks to the remote countryside. The fighting sparked near Halgan village in Hiran region after a 21-truck Ethiopian convoy was attacked by heavily-armed Somali rebels, locals reported."

Garowe Online - Home ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia Feb 22 (Garowe Online) - The former Prime Minister of Somalia's transitional government, Prof. Ali Mohamed Gedi, flew unexpectedly to the Ethiopian capital Wednesday amid much speculation. Gedi retained his position as Somali legislator after resigning from the Prime Minister's office last October and maintains close relations with Ethiopian government leaders, including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.