El-Adly, right, and his Yemeni counterpart

TUNIS, January 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Arab Interior Ministers' talks, held in the Tunisian capital Sunday, January 4, have focused on the issue of fighting terrorism, as some Interior Ministers demanded a unified Arab strategy to combat what they dubbed "terrorist organizations".

Other Interior Ministers, however, have emphasized the need for setting clear-cut borders and avoiding confusion between Islam and terrorism.

In his speech during the inaugural session of the 21st Arab Interior Ministers' Council, Egyptian Interior Minister Habib El-Adli has reiterated the necessity for devising an "information exchange mechanism between the member states and the lists of fleeing terrorist elements," according to Reuters news agency.

El-Adli has also emphasized the need for "formulating a unified Arab strategy to combat terrorist organizations that seek to use most up-to-date techniques in executing their organizational communication and terrorist operations".

He called for realizing coordination between Arab Interior Ministers and the Arab Banking Union in order to dry up the sources that finance "terrorist organizations".

The Lebanese Interior Minister Elias El-Mur, for his part, has demanded to provide support to security agencies and keep them away from politics in order to be able to confront aggravating security situations.

"In these critical and exceptional circumstances, security should also be exceptional. It should not be limited or infringed upon," El-Mur said, warning that all Arab states are targeted by terrorism.

"The region is on the verge of explosion. There are internal and external pressures. We should not get tired of resistance and confrontation. We should never imagine we are not targeted," he added.

State Terrorism

On his part, the Syrian Interior Minister Ali Hamoud has underlined that combating terrorism in the region includes fighting the state terrorism practiced by Israel as well.

"Israeli terrorism engulfs the Palestinian people, killing innocents and practicing destruction in what appears to be the climax of the state terrorism witnessed the world over," Hamoud said.

The Syrian Minister added that the current events taking place in the region "prove the need for turning the Middle East states, including Israel, into a region free from mass destruction weapons (WMD)."

The Sudanese Interior Minister Abdul Reheem Mohamed Hussein has called for avoiding any confusion between Islam and Terrorism.

In addition to cooperating in the field of combating terrorism, the Interior Ministers discuss, during their meetings that will last until Tuesday, January 6, 2004, the organized crime, fighting corruption, human slavery, cyber-crimes and drug trafficking.