| Muslim nations demand Israeli ceasefire
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AFP) - Muslim nations have demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and warned that boiling anger over the Israeli offensive in Lebanon could launch a new wave of terrorism.
With Muslims around the world enraged by the carnage in Lebanon, where the death toll has topped 900, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) convened an emergency meeting here to map out a unified Islamic response.
Key nations from the 57-nation bloc, including Iran as well as allies of the US "war on terror" such as Turkey and Pakistan, condemned what they called the "relentless Israeli aggression" and called for an immediate truce.
In a joint statement they accused Israel of "blatant and flagrant" human rights violations in carrying out "indiscriminate and massive" air strikes in their three-week-old campaign against the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia.
"We demand that the UN Security Council fulfil its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security without any further delay by deciding on and enforcing an immediate and unconditional comprehensive ceasefire," they said.
They said Israel should bear "full responsibility for the consequences of its aggression."
The United States has declined to back international calls for a ceasefire and indicated that Israel's ground and air war was justified by the fight against terrorism.
But Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahwad Badawi, the OIC chairman who called Thursday's meeting, warned that Muslim anger across the world was deepening over the bloodshed in Lebanon.
"Muslims are angry even in moderate Muslim countries," Abdullah told a press conference after a day of talks that led to the group's statement.
"We fear that a new wave of angry people may join the ranks of terrorism and take their own actions," he said.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC's Turkish secretary general, earlier told delegates that the "Islamic Ummah (community) is outraged."
"They are perplexed in the face of gross double standards applied by the international community," Ihsanoglu said.
"Anger is spreading all over the Muslim world. I am afraid that the anger of the Muslim masses is being transformed into permanent hatred against the aggressors and their explicit and implicit protectors."
One of the key Islamic leaders at the one-day meeting, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reportedly said behind closed doors that wiping out Israel would solve the current crisis.
"The real cure for the conflict is elimination of the Zionist regime, but there should be first an immediate ceasefire," he was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency.
At a press conference later, he mocked US remarks about creating a "new Middle East" and said there was no reason for Israel to exist.
"This is an illegal regime with no basis for its existence," Ahmadinejad said.
"The role of this regime is to invade and attack. The Americans are after the new Middle East. We say the new Middle East will prevail but without the existence of the Zionist regime."
Abdullah said the Muslim bloc had discussed any eventual peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, and that many nations would send troops if they were put under UN control -- as Lebanon has called for.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Thursday for 15,000 international troops in southern Lebanon but was critical of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force that has been on the ground there since 1978.
It was unclear if Israel would accept a presence of Muslim troops on its border. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said the Israelis "don't want UNIFIL" while his country did not want "occupying forces" in its south.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said OIC nations should support UN peacekeeping efforts.
"Pakistan is one of the largest contributors to the UN system. I propose that OIC countries consider joining the UN initiative in this connection," he told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his country was ready to commit a battalion of troops and Abdullah said Malaysia would also contribute.
"We must play a more proactive role in the present conflict," he said.
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