OMEN
04-04-2006, 09:19 PM
IRAQI leaders have shelved talks on forming a government despite a warning from the United States and Britain against any further delay, as at least 23 were killed in violence across the country.
In another key development, Saddam Hussein was charged for genocide for the first time over his Anfal military campaign against Kurds from 1987-1988 that left around 180,000 people dead.
Talks on forming a national unity government were shelved despite stern warnings from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw who left Iraq yesterday after an unprecedented two-day visit.
The formation of the first permanent post-Saddam government has been delayed due to bitter wrangling over key ministerial posts and the premiership, with non-Shiite factions opposing the candidacy of incumbent prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
The political vacuum saw Ms Rice and Mr Straw earlier this week voice their frustration at the lack of political progress, although the two refrained from any direct reference as to who should lead the cabinet.
Splits have appeared in the dominant conservative Shiite grouping, the United Iraqi Alliance, over the key sticking point of whether Mr Jaafari should lead the new government.
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"The ball is in the court of the alliance who have to take a final decision on Jaafari," a lawmaker from one of the key partners in the alliance, Mohammed Ismail Khazali of the Fadhila party, said.
"I call upon a parliament session to decide on this issue as the alliance has been unable to decide til now."
Though the reason for today's shelving of talks was not announced, sources close to negotiations said the Shiite alliance was holding intense internal talks to decide on the issue of Mr Jaafari.
It was also not clear whether the talks will commence again tomorrow.
Kurdish, secular and Sunni politicians from other blocs involved in government negotiations have indicated their dissatisfaction with Mr Jaafari, blaming him for not being able to stem the violence or rein in sectarian tendencies of several ministers.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, has supported the anti-Jaafari campaign.
"Our attitude towards Jaafari does not reflect that we are against his Dawa party of the Shiite alliance," Mr Talabani told reporters today.
Expressing optimism over the talks to form the national unity government, he said "all political blocs were keen for an early resolution and ready to make compromises".
He said the political deliberations will not take more than two weeks.
For the United States, a national unity government is essential to their plans for an eventual withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi High Tribunal said that Saddam and six others would be tried on genocide charges over the Anfal campaign against Kurds that left an estimated 180,000 people dead.
Saddam's six co-defendants include Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, notorious for ordering the gassing of Halabja in 1988 which killed 5000 people, chief investigating judge Raed al-Juhi told reporters.
"The investigation has been completed for the Anfal campaign and the seven accused have been referred to the court for genocide," he said.
The announcement came as the trial of Saddam and seven others for the massacre of 141 Shiite villagers from Dujail resumes tomorrow.
Aside from Saddam and Majid, others in the dock will include former minister of defence Sultan Hashem Ahmed and high ranking Baathists Saber Abdel Aziz, Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, Taher Mohammed al-Ani and Farhan al-Juburi.
Meanwhile, the violence on the ground escalated with dozens of US and Iraqi casualties.
At least 23 people died today in violence around the country, including a car bomb that struck eastern Baghdad.
Ten people were killed and around 25 wounded in the explosion of a car bomb parked in the al-Habibiyah neighbourhood, a security source said.
Police found 18 bodies around Baghdad, many of them tortured and riddled with bullets. Dozens of bodies have been dumped in the capital in the wake of the outbreak of sectarian strife since the February 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The US military has also experienced one of its deadliest periods over the past few days, with at least 15 servicemen reported to have lost their lives in rebel violence and a flash flood.
Early today the military said it found one of the bodies of marines missing after a deadly road accident caused by the flash flood in Iraq's western Al-Anbar province on Monday. It had earlier declared five marines dead in the accident.
The bodies of a marine and a sailor remain missing from the accident near Haditha when a truck in a convoy rolled over.
About 2340 US servicemen have died since the March 2003 invasion in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi cabinet said three insurgents were killed, including one known as the Prince of Princes, in an operation in Tarmiya, just north of Baghdad. The release gave no further detail about the "prince".
A court in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region sentenced to death 12 members of militant group Ansar al-Islam for numerous killings and explosions, an Arbil judiciary official said.
News.AU
In another key development, Saddam Hussein was charged for genocide for the first time over his Anfal military campaign against Kurds from 1987-1988 that left around 180,000 people dead.
Talks on forming a national unity government were shelved despite stern warnings from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw who left Iraq yesterday after an unprecedented two-day visit.
The formation of the first permanent post-Saddam government has been delayed due to bitter wrangling over key ministerial posts and the premiership, with non-Shiite factions opposing the candidacy of incumbent prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
The political vacuum saw Ms Rice and Mr Straw earlier this week voice their frustration at the lack of political progress, although the two refrained from any direct reference as to who should lead the cabinet.
Splits have appeared in the dominant conservative Shiite grouping, the United Iraqi Alliance, over the key sticking point of whether Mr Jaafari should lead the new government.
Advertisement:
"The ball is in the court of the alliance who have to take a final decision on Jaafari," a lawmaker from one of the key partners in the alliance, Mohammed Ismail Khazali of the Fadhila party, said.
"I call upon a parliament session to decide on this issue as the alliance has been unable to decide til now."
Though the reason for today's shelving of talks was not announced, sources close to negotiations said the Shiite alliance was holding intense internal talks to decide on the issue of Mr Jaafari.
It was also not clear whether the talks will commence again tomorrow.
Kurdish, secular and Sunni politicians from other blocs involved in government negotiations have indicated their dissatisfaction with Mr Jaafari, blaming him for not being able to stem the violence or rein in sectarian tendencies of several ministers.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, has supported the anti-Jaafari campaign.
"Our attitude towards Jaafari does not reflect that we are against his Dawa party of the Shiite alliance," Mr Talabani told reporters today.
Expressing optimism over the talks to form the national unity government, he said "all political blocs were keen for an early resolution and ready to make compromises".
He said the political deliberations will not take more than two weeks.
For the United States, a national unity government is essential to their plans for an eventual withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi High Tribunal said that Saddam and six others would be tried on genocide charges over the Anfal campaign against Kurds that left an estimated 180,000 people dead.
Saddam's six co-defendants include Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, notorious for ordering the gassing of Halabja in 1988 which killed 5000 people, chief investigating judge Raed al-Juhi told reporters.
"The investigation has been completed for the Anfal campaign and the seven accused have been referred to the court for genocide," he said.
The announcement came as the trial of Saddam and seven others for the massacre of 141 Shiite villagers from Dujail resumes tomorrow.
Aside from Saddam and Majid, others in the dock will include former minister of defence Sultan Hashem Ahmed and high ranking Baathists Saber Abdel Aziz, Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, Taher Mohammed al-Ani and Farhan al-Juburi.
Meanwhile, the violence on the ground escalated with dozens of US and Iraqi casualties.
At least 23 people died today in violence around the country, including a car bomb that struck eastern Baghdad.
Ten people were killed and around 25 wounded in the explosion of a car bomb parked in the al-Habibiyah neighbourhood, a security source said.
Police found 18 bodies around Baghdad, many of them tortured and riddled with bullets. Dozens of bodies have been dumped in the capital in the wake of the outbreak of sectarian strife since the February 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The US military has also experienced one of its deadliest periods over the past few days, with at least 15 servicemen reported to have lost their lives in rebel violence and a flash flood.
Early today the military said it found one of the bodies of marines missing after a deadly road accident caused by the flash flood in Iraq's western Al-Anbar province on Monday. It had earlier declared five marines dead in the accident.
The bodies of a marine and a sailor remain missing from the accident near Haditha when a truck in a convoy rolled over.
About 2340 US servicemen have died since the March 2003 invasion in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi cabinet said three insurgents were killed, including one known as the Prince of Princes, in an operation in Tarmiya, just north of Baghdad. The release gave no further detail about the "prince".
A court in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region sentenced to death 12 members of militant group Ansar al-Islam for numerous killings and explosions, an Arbil judiciary official said.
News.AU