BAGHDAD (AFP) - Baghdad officials feted Iraq's Asian Cup win with music and dancing for a second day at the city's most fortified compound on Saturday before their heroes beat a quick exit from the war-torn nation.
Youth and Sports Minister Jassem Jaafar hosted politicians and dignitaries at a party for the team at a luxury hotel inside Baghdad's Green Zone, the often-shelled city district that houses the Iraqi government and US embassy.
Guests cheered to the beat of folk music, waved giant Iraqi flags and congratulated the squad on last Sunday's victory that has been celebrated as a rare moment of national solidarity by most of Iraq's war-weary population.
But as with homecoming festivities on Friday, ordinary Iraqis were kept at bay. Instead, government officials, members of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, football officials and lawmakers were prominent among the crowd.
President Jalal Talabani expressed hope that the victory would encourage politicians to unite against the discord that saw the largest Sunni bloc withdraw from the Shiite-dominated government on Wednesday.
"This victory will help to patch up and strengthen alliances between groups on the basis of national reconciliation," he told a separate news conference.
But just hours later, various squad members flew out of Iraq, bound for the relative peace of Jordan and other Arab states where many of them play their club football far from the killing fields of home.
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Youth and Sports Minister Jassem Jaafar hosted politicians and dignitaries at a party for the team at a luxury hotel inside Baghdad's Green Zone, the often-shelled city district that houses the Iraqi government and US embassy.
Guests cheered to the beat of folk music, waved giant Iraqi flags and congratulated the squad on last Sunday's victory that has been celebrated as a rare moment of national solidarity by most of Iraq's war-weary population.
But as with homecoming festivities on Friday, ordinary Iraqis were kept at bay. Instead, government officials, members of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, football officials and lawmakers were prominent among the crowd.
President Jalal Talabani expressed hope that the victory would encourage politicians to unite against the discord that saw the largest Sunni bloc withdraw from the Shiite-dominated government on Wednesday.
"This victory will help to patch up and strengthen alliances between groups on the basis of national reconciliation," he told a separate news conference.
But just hours later, various squad members flew out of Iraq, bound for the relative peace of Jordan and other Arab states where many of them play their club football far from the killing fields of home.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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