The Hindu : International : Sunnis end boycott of Parliament

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Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006

International

International

Sunnis end boycott of Parliament

47 killed in attacks nationwide

BAGHDAD: Sunni Arab representatives said on Tuesday they would end their boycott of Iraq's Parliament following promises that a kidnapped colleague would be released and a call for reconciliation by a Shia cleric.

The easing of tensions in the Government came on a day of violence elsewhere. Bombings and shootings killed at least 47 persons nationwide.

Gunmen also seized an Iraqi diplomat on leave from his post in Iran as he was driving near his Baghdad home. Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Wissam Jabr al-Awadi was a consul in the Iranian city of Kermanshah, a city with a large Kurdish population near the border with Iraq.

The Iraqi Accordance Front suspended its participation in Parliament meetings earlier this month after one of its members, Tayseer al-Mashhadani, was kidnapped in a Shia neighbourhood in Baghdad. Many Sunnis blamed anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, though the organisation has denied involvement. Mr. Al-Sadr has called for unity. A leading Sunni politician said the bloc was responding, in the first sign of accommodation by both sides amid a sharp rise in sectarian tensions.

A series of brazen attacks struck the Baghdad area and northern Iraq, killing at least 47 persons and wounding 65. Gunmen in the capital intercepted a minivan with Shia mourners planning to carry a coffin to the holy city of Najaf. All 10 persons on board were killed.

Saddam's trial

The former President, Saddam Hussein, and his defence counsel boycotted his trial for crimes against humanity for a second day on Tueday, forcing a two-week adjournment to give court-appointed lawyers time to prepare final arguments.

Mr. Hussein's lawyers said on Monday they would boycott the trial unless their personal security was improved and an investigation launched into the killing of a third member of the defence team. — AP

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