Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Sunnis give al-Maliki one week to rein in Shiite militias

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Both Sunni and Shiite political factions are threatening to withdraw from the already weak government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a prospect that threatens the political accommodations needed to calm Iraq's sectarian warfare.


Maliki supporters say the threats are nothing more than the bluster of negotiations and that the prime minister will be able to hold his fragile coalition together.


But Sunni politicians said Tuesday that they're serious about pulling out of parliament over what they say is Maliki's reluctance to share power. Maliki is a Shiite.


Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that loyalists of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also are considering breaking away from the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance in the legislature, a move that would rob that ruling political bloc of its slim majority.....

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