IRAQ:Iraq's main Sunni Arab political coalition announced yesterday that it was pulling out of the Shia-led national unity government, in what may become a significant blow to hopes for Sunni-Shia reconciliation.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Consensus Front (ICF) told a press conference that the six ministers who are members of the alliance would submit their resignations, although ICF member Tariq al-Hashemi would remain as vice-president.
The Iraqi government said 1,653 civilians were killed in July, one-third more than in June, but the number of deaths among US troops fell.
Fifty of yesterday's dead were killed when a suicide bomber in a fuel lorry packed with explosives targeted motorists at a petrol station, police said. Another suicide bomber killed 20 people outside a popular ice cream shop across town. Another bomber killed three in southern Doura district.
Rafie al-Issawi, an ICF parliamentarian, said that his coalition took the step of withdrawing from the government of Nuri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister, after it failed to respond to a series of demands, notably the release of detainees held without charge and the disbandment of militias.
"The government is continuing with its arrogance, refusing to change its stand and has slammed shut the door to any meaningful reform," Mr Issawi said.
The ICF had issued an ultimatum last week but, given the slow pace of Iraqi decision-making, its demands were almost certain to have been unmet.
The withdrawal follows several months of rising tension between the government and Sunni Arab politicians. The ICF briefly withdrew its members from parliament after one of its number was ousted as speaker. It also suspended its ministers' participation in cabinet when an arrest warrant was issued against one member for allegedly planning the assassination of a parliamentarian.
Sunni politicians say that there has also been an internal dispute between ICF members who want to sever their ties with the Shia-led government and act as an opposition, and those who want to take what they can from a powersharing agreement.
One Iraqi guerrilla group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, issued an internet statement on Tuesday calling on the ICF to withdraw, suggesting some Sunni politicians may be calculating that, as an opposition, they are better placed to represent insurgents.
But the ICF's decision to keep Mr Hashemi as vice-president suggests that they still want to keep their options open.
The ICF is one of several blocs to pull out of Mr Maliki's government in recent months. The radical Shia Sadrist bloc withdrew its ministers in March.
But it would nonetheless be difficult for Mr Maliki's critics to overthrow him, as they are bitterly divided. The Sunni bloc, for example, supports the rehabilitation of senior members of the former ruling Ba'ath party, while the Sadrists bitterly oppose it.
US forces in Iraq recorded their lowest total of fatalities last month since the beginning of the anti-insurgent "surge", with about 80 troops killed during July, compared with more than 100 in each of the three preceding months. It was also the lowest number since November last year. - (Financial Times service)