Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    HELSINKI, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking representatives of Iraq's majority Shiite and minority Sunni Muslim groups would meet in Finland within a couple of days under the auspices of the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) headed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the CMI told the Finnish News Agency on Thursday.

    The CMI said that it would not disclose the venue of the meeting due to high security surrounding the gathering. Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who heads the CMI, will not be taking part in the talks.

    The list of participants includes, in addition to the representatives of Iraq's majority Shiite and minority Sunni Muslim groups, mediators from Northern Ireland and South Africa.

    According to a Finnish broadcasting company (YLE) report, the talks will be attended by representatives from the radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and Sunni opposition politician Adnan al-Duleimi. A representative from the largest Shiite party, the SCIRI will also attend along with Chairman of the Iraqi Parliament's foreign affairs committee Humam Hammoudi. They will be joined by representatives from the peace processes in South Africa and Northern Ireland.

    The primary aim of the seminar type gathering is to sound out the possibilities for a peaceful dialogue on the basis of the peace processes in South Africa and Northern Ireland.