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Deadlock over Iraq government continues

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s largest Sunni-Arab political bloc said on Wednesday it had suspended talks on ending its boycott of the government due to a dispute over which positions it would assume. The decision was a setback to Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki’s efforts to bring the Sunnis back into the political fold to shore up recent security gains.

“The talks yielded nothing and the government’s response was not in line with our demands so we have decided to suspend them,” said Adnan al-Dulaimi, who leads the Sunni National Accordance Front, which holds 44 of 275 parliamentary seats. The bloc, which comprises three parties, pulled its members out of the 39-member Cabinet in August 2007, saying they were not getting enough say in decision-making.

But Sunni politicians said in April that they were negotiating a possible return, apparently swayed by Mr. Al-Maliki’s crackdown against Shia militias that focused on the Mahdi Army of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Mr. Al-Sadr’s followers also left the government last year after Mr. Al-Maliki refused their demands for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Mr. Al-Maliki, himself a Shia, expressed optimism on April 25, saying he expected to be ready to present a new Cabinet list “within a few days.” But Sunni officials said a deal was held up by internal disagreements over who should hold which posts.

Mr. Al-Dulaimi complained on Wednesday that Mr. Al-Maliki had refused to let his bloc keep the leadership of the Planning Ministry and offered the Communications Ministry instead. — AP

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