IRAQ: Roadside bombs injure civilians and Iraqi Sunnis have committed to talks with Shi'ites and Kurds to form a government of national unity.

Record ID: 687580

  • Title: IRAQ: Roadside bombs injure civilians and Iraqi Sunnis have committed to talks with Shi'ites and Kurds to form a government of national unity.
  • Date: 22nd January 2006
  • Summary: IRAQI ACCORDANCE FRONT NEWS CONFERENCE AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TAREQ AL-HASHIMI, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE IRAQI ISLAMIC PARTY AND MEMBER OF IRAQI ACCORDANCE FRONT SAYING: "We have not decided yet whether to run in the next government, we decided to be part of the political process. We will leave the matter of participating in the next government to our supporters and to those who voted for us. They will decide and if that choice is good for them, for Iraq and Iraqis, we will agree on it." MEMBERS OF THE IRAQI ACCORDANCE FRONT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TAREQ AL-HASHIMI, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE IRAQI ISLAMIC PARTY AND MEMBER OF IRAQI ACCORDANCE FRONT SAYING: "In the current situation, what is important for us is the programme of the next government, we do not care about the number of seats or number of portfolios which the Iraqi Accordance Front will gain in the future." AUDIENCE ATTENDING NEWS CONFERENCE END OF NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 6th February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA3R2J4G5E9XCC61K868F1BYZEH
  • Story Text: A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army convoy in western Baghdad on Sunday (January 22), wounding five civilians, police said.
    An Iraqi soldier, Ibrahim Malik said of the attack in al-Mansour neighbourhood in western Baghdad, "A bomb went off close to our brothers, the commandoes of the interior ministry. Thank God there are no casualties among them but we have three civilians wounded in the attack, three damaged cars and broken windows in some nearby homes."
    In a second incident in the al-Saidiya neighbourhood of southern Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded near an army convoy, wounding two soldiers, Iraqi police said.
    Authorities have warned of an upsurge in violence by Sunni Arab rebels after the publication of election results on Friday (January 20) that confirmed the continued dominance of Shi'ite Islamists and Kurds in the government.
    Tareq al-Hashimi, Secretary General of the Iraqi Islamic Party and member of the Iraqi Accordance Front said at a News conference held in Baghdad, "we will leave the matter of participating in the next government to our supporters and to those who voted for us. They will decide and if that choice is good for them, for Iraq and Iraqis, we will agree on it."
    Al-Hashimi said the most important thing for Sunnis is the performance of the next government, not the number of seat held by the Iraqi Accordance Party.
    Following the parliamentary elections held on December 15, 2005 the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq put the main Shi'ite religious bloc, The United Iraqi Alliance, winning 120-130 of the 275 seats. Kurdish groups won around 50 seats followed by 40 seats for the Sunni Arab bloc. The remaining seats appeared to be split among smaller groups.
    The Shi'ites stand to lead a coalition government. Iraq's biggest Sunni political bloc committed itself on Sunday (January 22) to talks with Shi'ites and Kurds to form a government of national unity, but said its key demands, including changes to the constitution, must be met.
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