http://start.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20051230/43b4bed0_3ca6_1552620051230-1508892766Word Spreads in Iraq of Refinery ShutdownBy SINAN SALAHEDDIN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
December 30, 2005 8:04 AM EST
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Long lines formed at gas stations in Baghdad on Friday as word spread that Iraq's largest oil refinery had shut down in the face of threats against truck drivers, and fears grew of a gas shortage.
An international team, meanwhile, agreed on Thursday to assess Iraq's parliamentary elections, a decision lauded by Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups who have staged repeated protests around Iraq complaining of widespread fraud and intimidation. The Shiite religious bloc leading after the Dec. 15 poll also welcomed the decision and said it would help end any doubts about the elections.
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Ali Moussa, a 51-year-old tanker truck driver, said he and his colleagues were working in a dangerous situation. "We demand that the government provide security and protection," he said. "The Beiji storage tanks are full and there isn't any shortage of gas there. The problem is that drivers are too afraid to go there unless they are protected."
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An elections crisis could set back hopes for a broad-based government that would include minority Sunni Arabs as well as secular Shiites. Such a government could have the legitimacy necessary to diminish the insurgency - a key part of any U.S. military exit strategy from Iraq.
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