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Rivals stop coalition talks in Iraq in sectarian row
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Rivals stop coalition talks in Iraq in sectarian row
Reuters - 1 hour 59 minutes ago
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By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD - The Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance of former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi on Monday formally broke off coalition talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, likely delaying even further the formation of a government.
Chances of a deal between Iraqiya and Maliki's Shi'ite-led State of Law following the inconclusive March 7 vote were always remote, and the move was not all that surprising, analysts said.
But the political impasse has stirred tensions as U.S. troops prepare to end combat operations this month, ahead of a full withdrawal next year, and raised the spectre of a return to widespread violence just as the bloodshed has begun to recede.
A spokeswoman for Iraqiya, Maysoon al-Damluji, said the bloc stopped coalition negotiations after Maliki described Allawi's group as Sunni, rather than cross-sectarian.
"We demand that he apologises, not to Iraqiya but to the supporters of Iraqiya who voted for a national project and not a sectarian one," Damluji said.
Iraqiya official Intisar Allawi said more than 26 of its 91 elected lawmakers were Shi'ite, as was Iyad Allawi himself. "So why does he call us a Sunni bloc? This is an insult," she said.
Iraqis had hoped the March 7 ballot would lead to greater stability and prosperity seven years after the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein and triggered widespread slaughter between majority Shi'ites and once-dominant Sunnis.
Instead the resulting political uncertainty has been accompanied by persistent attacks and cast doubt on Iraq's ability to attract the foreign investment it needs to rebuild after decades of war, sanctions and economic decline.
The number of civilians killed in July almost doubled to 396 from 204 the month before, according to government figures, as armed groups tested the mettle of Iraqi security forces ahead of a formal end to U.S. combat operations at the end of August.
The conundrum has stirred public anger.
This month, a dozen Iraqi civil rights groups presented a lawsuit demanding that bickering politicians form a new government or dissolve parliament to hold a new vote.
"All this plunged the country into a crisis of which the consequences are unknown, of which the primary victim will be the Iraqi people in general," women's rights group al-Amal and the other organisations said in a statement on Monday.
NO OUTRIGHT WINNER
While neither won the majority needed to govern, State of Law won two seats fewer than Iraqiya in the 325-seat parliament.
Iraqiya won broad backing from Sunnis who see Allawi as a secular strongman able to stand up against Shi'ite power Iran.
State of Law merged after the election with Iraq's other main Shi'ite-led faction, the Iraqi National Alliance , to become the biggest group in the new parliament.
But Maliki's desire for a second term is opposed by some Shi'ite partners. That led him to start talks with Allawi.
The United States, eager to stick to President Barack Obama's schedule to cut troop numbers to 50,000 at the end of the month, has been urging Maliki and Allawi to cut a deal.
State of Law spokesman Hachim al-Hasani said Maliki's comments had been taken out of context and he hoped Iraqiya would reverse its decision.
Analysts said it seemed Iraqiya had been looking for an excuse to break off talks with Maliki due to bad chemistry.
"The only likely effect of cooling relations between Iraqiya and State of Law is that it can make Maliki focus even more attention on resuscitating the all-Shi'ite alliance, thus complicating the government-formation scenario even further," said Reidar Visser of Iraq-focussed website www.historiae.org.
The dispute could energise negotiations between Iraqiya and the INA's main elements, in particular the Iran-friendly Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council , though analysts were sceptical.
"The problem is deeper than this accusation. It is related to the fact that the disagreement between the political blocs is in its very nature sectarian," said Yahya al-Kubaisy, a researcher at the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies.
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