by Muhsen Hussein, Laith Salman

   BAGHDAD, Oct. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- With the start of the countdown toIraq's elections due in January, both Sunni and Shiite Muslims inthe violence-ravaged country were preparing to embrace it, but indifferent ways.

   After a meeting on Wednesday, 200 Sunni scholars threatened toboycott the general elections if US forces mount a large-scalemilitary strike on Fallujah, a Sunni stronghold 50 km west ofBaghdad.

   In recent days, the US aircraft have bombed the flashpoint cityalmost daily under the pretext that al-Qaida-linked Jordanian-bornmilitant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his supporters were hidingsomewhere in the city.

   Local residents said however that Zarqawi was not in the cityand the resistance there was a patriotic action against the foreignoccupation.

   The interim government led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi hasdeclared that the door was still open for negotiations withFallujah, in an effort to pacify the country to pave the way forthe elections.

   In a negative response, people in Fallujah rejected any truce orpeace deal with the government unless the US forces withdraw fromthe city.

   "The rhetoric to justify the attacks on Fallujah isunacceptable," said the city's Sunni scholars in a statement.   Many civilians have been killed or injured in the USbombardments on Fallujah, though the US military said the strikesagainst Zarqawi were precise.

   The Zarqawi group has claimed several gruesome beheadings offoreign hostages and deadly suicide car bombings targeting theoccupation forces and the Iraqi governmental institutions.   On the other hand, the Shiites, complaining of beingmarginalized during the reign of Saddam Hussein, were exertingefforts to play a major role in Iraq's administration in proportionwith their population rate, 60 percent of all Iraqis.   Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, top Shiite cleric in Iraq,pledged support on several occasions for the elections and calledon the people to cast their ballots.

   It was reported that Sistani has endorsed an electoral listprepared by Shiite politicians, but a source close to Sistani'soffice emphasized on Wednesday that the religious leader was keento stay neutral in the elections and not to stand it as a partymember under any circumstances.

   The source pointed out that Sistani considered himself as fatherof Iraqis and consequently would not take one party's side againstthe other.

   He stressed that Sistani expects fair and just elections whichrepresent the will of the Iraqi people.

   The general elections by Jan. 31 were called for in a UNSecurity Council resolution adopted on June 8 and are a major plankin the US strategy for building democracy in Iraq.   Voters are to choose a 275-seat parliament that will draft apermanent constitution for the country.

   Iraq's political future rides on the January vote, which isexpected to give the country its first democratically-electedadministration, replacing the Allawi government whose legitimacyhas been questioned because it was US appointed.   Another election will be held under that constitution by the endof 2005.  Enditem