US: More violence to come
2003-12-07 17:34
Baghdad - Violence in Iraq can be expected to increase in the coming months, the commander of US forces in the country, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, warned on Sunday.
Asked about the length and severity of the insurgency raging under US occupation, Sanchez told a press conference he expected it to intensify and the targets to widen over coming months, right through June and July.
"In terms of the length ... we expect to see an increase in violence as we move towards the transfer of sovereignty at the end of June," he said.
"By the time we pass sovereignty back to the Iraqi people those (enemy) forces will have to conduct some sort of operation against the political and economic sector while keeping pressure on the military to derail that process," he said.
"Into the spring and through the June timeframe we expect continued violence.
"We are expecting to have some periods where there is increased violence in the coming months."