Freedom marches because it can't drive: Iraq's ban on private vehicles

36 People Die in Unrelenting Iraq Violence

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers2 hours, 42 minutes ago

A bomb ripped through a vegetable market in a Shiite section of Baghdad, and a leading Sunni politician escaped an attack on his convoy Thursday as at least 36 people were killed in unrelenting violence, pushing Iraq toward civil war.

An aide to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, meanwhile, lashed out at Sunni, Kurdish and secular political leaders who have mounted a campaign to deny him another term, saying the Shiite United Iraqi alliance will not change its candidate.

Al-Jaafari met with representatives of the main political parties Thursday night to discuss ways of containing the sectarian attacks, reversing an earlier decision to cancel the meeting after the move against him.

The Iraqi government later announced a one-day ban on private vehicles in Baghdad and its outskirts aimed at averting violence on Friday, when Muslims attend the most important prayer service of the week. The ban will take effect when the overnight curfew ends at 6 a.m. Friday and will last until 4 p.m., according to a statement issued by the prime minister's office. Police and army were instructed to seal off the capital and seize any private vehicles that defy the ban.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&printer=1