IRAQ: Violence continues in cities across Iraq while the parliament is set to vote on a new government

Record ID: 375714

  • Title: IRAQ: Violence continues in cities across Iraq while the parliament is set to vote on a new government
  • Date: 18th May 2006
  • Summary: (BN11) BAGHDAD , IRAQ ( MAY 17 .2006) ( REUTERS) SITE WHERE ROADSIDE BOMB EXPLODED PEOPLE AT SITE DAMAGED CAR SMASHED WINDOW PEOPLE GATHERED AT SITE
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAF4LIZC9ZCN33929M01H4KNENB
  • Story Text: Fighting continued between insurgents and U.S. forces on Wednesday (May 17) in the restive city of Ramadi.
    Witnesses said four people had been killed and four others wounded in the clashes which erupted at the Azizyah district in the centre of the city.
    Ramadi, the capital of semi-lawless Anbar province, is a base of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.
    U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched a series of offensives in Anbar over the past few months aimed at securing western Iraq against the insurgents.
    Near the northern city of Tikrit, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army patrol, killing one person and wounding three others .
    Meanwhile in Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Baghdad targeting Iraqi police car. Police said that two policemen were wounded and two other civilian wounded also in the blast which took place in Zayounah neighbourhood.
    Five months since an election hailed as a sign most Iraqis, including the once dominant and now rebellious Sunni minority, could come together behind the U.S.-sponsored political process, communal violence has soared, raising questions on how far any new government can stem bloodshed and a mounting refugee crisis.
    On Tuesday, Iraqi police sources said gunmen broke into a house where an United Arab Emirates diplomat was staying and apparently abducted him. The UAE's state news agency said contact had been lost with the diplomat, Naji al-Noaimi.
    The U.S. military announced the deaths of three soldiers on Tuesday in two roadside bomb blasts around Baghdad.
    Meanwhile on Wednesday at the Iraqi parliament, the house speaker told the chamber to reconvene on Saturday (May 20) for a vote to confirm the appointment of a government, signalling the prime minister was close to a deal on a cabinet.
    A source close to Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki said he hoped to be able to finalise his line-up on Thursday, four days ahead of a deadline. Parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani could not immediately be reached for comment.
    "We have received an official letter from the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister-designate asking us to meet and vote to approve his cabinet on Saturday. So, we decided to reconvene next Saturday at 1100 a.m..," Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhdani, told the parliament. Parliament must approve the appointments before Iraq's first full-term government since the U.S.-led invasion, can take office. With most parties expected to be represented in cabinet, the vote is likely to be formality.
    Although minority Sunni, secular and other parties, including members of Maliki's own Shi'ite Islamist bloc, said publicly they were holding out for concessions, negotiators said agreement was close.
    "Parliament has received a letter from Maliki asking us to meet and vote to approve his cabinet," Sunni legislator Hussein al-Falluji told Reuters after the session.
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