IRAQ: The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, conceded yesterday that the country's security had become worse in the two months since he took office.
Speaking to journalists in London before meeting Tony Blair, Mr Maliki revealed that he was planning a new security initiative for Baghdad.
Hopes rose in May that the formation of the new Iraqi government, which includes Sunni Muslims as well as Shias, could break the cycle of violence. Intent on bringing stability, Mr Maliki announced soon afterwards a clampdown on Baghdad, with an influx of Iraqi troops to increase the number of checkpoints and maintain a curfew.
But the violence has continued unabated. Data compiled by the United Nations shows that an average of 100 civilians were killed each day during May and June. More than 60 were killed in car-bombs in Baghdad and Kirkuk on Sunday.
Mr Maliki said yesterday: "The security situation has got worse since the government took control because the terrorists realise this is a government that can achieve security. All the groups involved in terrorism have escalated bombings, kidnappings and other actions."
Despite the continuing violence, he claimed that the initial clampdown on Baghdad had been a success and that the insurgents and others involved in violence had switched to soft civilian targets rather than confront the military.
He said it was time to move to the next stage and that the new security plan would involve the Iraqi army taking control of the neighbourhoods on the edge of Baghdad to stop insurgents using them as bases. He listed the neighbourhoods and said that locals who had fled the violence would be encouraged to return and that Iraqi forces would be stationed there. The US military revealed at the weekend that it was planning to send extra troops into Baghdad as part of this second phase.
The US and Iraqi military know that they have to establish control of Baghdad before they can attempt to control the rest of the country. Iraqi forces took over one of the country's 18 provinces this month, but the prime minister refused to speculate on when the army would be in a position to replace US and other international forces in the remaining 17.
Mr Maliki, who was accompanied by several cabinet ministers, is due to meet George W. Bush in Washington today.
Although Mr Maliki has said that his government represents the last chance for Iraq, he vehemently denied that the country was heading towards civil war and eventual break-up.
Asked why the former dictator Saddam Hussein, who is on hunger strike, was not allowed to die, Mr Maliki said: "Because we want to put him on trial for the huge crimes he committed and to show the world the extent of his crimes."
Saddam was due in court yesterday but was taken to hospital over the weekend because of a deterioration in his condition. He was being fed through a tube after psychological counselling.