November 6, 2003	Thursday	Ramazan 10, 1424

NAJAF, Nov 5: An Iraqi provincial governor on Wednesday shut down regional government offices in Najaf to protest insecurity he blamed on the coalition, while Iraq’s Kurdish interim president said he would visit Turkey to clear the air after recent tensions.

Governor Haidar Mehdi Matar al-Mayyali launched an open-ended strike after leading a silent march to denounce the slaying of a local judge who was investigating officials of the Saddam government.

The demonstrators blamed the coalition for the deteriorating security situation in the central province.

Mayyali and other leaders called for more powers to be handed over to local authorities and for former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party to be removed from the government.

The protest followed the slaying of Muhan Jabr al-Shuwaili, the province’s top judge who was kidnapped and shot dead on Monday, in the city of Najaf, 180 kilometres south of Baghdad.