World digest 9/24

Exiled Afghan king ready to help fight Taliban

ROME -- Afghanistan's exiled king stands ready to help his country form a transitional government if the Taliban are overthrown, a U.N. envoy said Sunday after meeting the ousted monarch.

Former King Mohammad Zahir Shah, 86, has no ambitions to return to his homeland as monarch, but "could play an important role in the future of Afghanistan," said Francesc Vendrell, the U.N. chief's personal representative for Afghanistan.

"He has told me of his wish to be of help to the Afghan people," he said.

Vendrell and Zahir met privately for nearly an hour at the royal exile's luxurious villa in a high-security gated community on the northern edge of Rome.

Zahir also plans to meet soon with a delegation from his country's anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. The delegation's arrival in Rome was delayed and it was unclear when the meeting would take place.

Iraq: Strike possible; denies link to attacks

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Despite denying any link to recent terror attacks in the United States, Iraq considers itself a possible target in the American campaign against terrorism.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan on Saturday told reporters that Iraq had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

But when asked if the United States would attack Iraq, he replied that "Everything is possible. Yet this is not a new matter to Iraq, which faced ... a more stronger campaign led by the United States 11 years ago."

In Jordan, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Arab countries opposed strikes against Iraq.

Somalis protest negative depiction of Muslims

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Thousands of Somalis carried images of Osama bin Laden and placards criticizing American policy toward the Muslim world during a demonstration Sunday that the government tried to discourage.

Hundreds of members of the new police force stood by as Sheikh Ahmed Dhisow, an influential Muslim leader, told the crowd Muslims were willing to grant peace to those who gave them peace but said "we will make those who keep provoking Islam our enemy."

One of the placards read: "If America wants her women and children to live in peace, they should also give some peace to their Muslim and black communities."

People fleeing attacks by U.S join refugees

PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afghanistan -- About 6,000 people who sought shelter from Afghanistan's Taliban militia have livied in the primitive Anoba refugee camp, surviving largely on gathered nuts and berries.

As the country's capital, Kabul, braces for what residents fear will be U.S. strikes against the Taliban for its ties with terror suspect Osama bin Laden, new arrivals are joining the desperate masses in the camp, which gets virtually no support from international aid organizations.

The Anoba camp is in the small part of northern Afghanistan controlled by the anti-Taliban opposition, and most of its residents fled Kabul after the Taliban took control of the city in 1996.

Buddhist monks chant for attack victims' souls

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Some 2,000 Buddhist monks chanted prayers Sunday for victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States and for the cessation of further violence.

The ceremony, also attended by scores of lay people, is the Buddhist way of bringing peace to the souls of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The ceremony was organized by the Buddhist University of Thailand. Last week, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims gathered at the U.S. Embassy, urging Americans not to seek revenge.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has come down on the side of America's war on global terrorism but has not offered Thai assistance in U.S. military operations.

-- From wire reports