[Pfc.Green]

BERLIN (Reuters) - An obscure Iraqi opposition group demanding an end to Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites)'s rule in Baghdad occupied the Iraqi embassy in Berlin and took hostages Tuesday.

Police said one person was slightly hurt by teargas.

The group calling itself the Democratic Iraqi Opposition of Germany said in a statement it was launching "peaceful and temporary action." Police said several members of the group entered the embassy at 2:25 p.m. (1225 GMT) and threatened staff with weapons. There were unconfirmed reports of shots being fired.

Jazeera television monitored in Dubai broadcast what it said was a conversation with one of the occupiers of the embassy.

"We are not occupying the embassy, we're liberating this piece of Iraqi soil. We're doing this to highlight the desire of the Iraqi people for liberty and freedom," the man said.

He said the group was not armed and that the atmosphere in the embassy was calm. Asked how many people were occupying the building, the man replied: "We're 22 million people."

The assailants were believed to be holding fewer than 10 hostages, including Iraqi First Secretary Shamil A. Mohammed, the highest-ranking diplomat at the mission.

"We are already trying to make contact with the group," police spokesman Joerg Nittmann said. "No demands have been made."

German special forces troops, masked and clad in bullet-proof vests, ringed the building. But police said they would need authorization from Baghdad to storm the three-story villa because it was Iraqi territory.

MESSAGE TO SCHROEDER

A senior Iraqi opposition source in London said the group included former Iraqi army members and independent Kurds who did not follow the two militias controlling northern Iraq.

The source said the occupation was partly intended as a protest against German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's opposition to a possible U.S.-led campaign to remove the Iraqi leader.

"This is a message to Gerhard Schroeder as much as for Saddam. The Iraqis are disappointed with Germany's stance vis-a-vis an attack to remove Saddam," the source said.

"They are saying to Saddam that his junta does not represent Iraq and should not staff its embassies," the source added.

The occupation comes as Schroeder, trying to tap into German anti-war sentiment ahead of a difficult election next month, has stepped up his criticism of possible U.S. military action.

The group occupying the embassy sent a statement to Reuters saying: "We are taking over the Iraqi embassy in Berlin and with this the first step in the liberation of our beloved fatherland."

The statement, which appeared to have been sent by fax from the town of Hamburg, listed contact details at the bottom of the page which included the number of the Iraqi embassy in Berlin.

Police sealed off the street outside the embassy in a leafy southern district of Berlin. There were dozens of police vehicles and several ambulances in the street, set in a wealthy suburb. Bystanders were told to move further back.


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finally some people did something. hake: Schroeder hake: