CAIRO, Aug 11 (AFP) - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa called for dialogue in Iraq Wednesday, as US troops prepared to launch a new offensive against Shiite militiamen holed up in the central holy city of Najaf.
"Political dialogue is the only way to put Iraq back on the right track and obtain the departure of foreign troops," his spokesman Hossam Zaki quoted him as saying.
The US military said Wednesday it was poised to launch "major assaults" in Najaf against the militia of radical leader Moqtada Sadr, raising fears of more bloodletting after dozens were killed in fighting there over the past week.
"Building a new Iraq requires from all sides the logic of dialogue and not that of military might," Mussa said, voicing hope that the Arab League could play a part in "achieving national reconciliation through a national assembly grouping all the sons of Iraq."