Iraq on edge as UN steps in to solve deadlock

BAGHDAD – The UN’s envoy to Iraq stepped in yesterday to try to break the country’s political deadlock, with tensions running high in Baghdad after two days of running battles between rebels and US-Iraqi forces.

UN representative Ashraf Qazi said the fierce fighting in the capital underscored the urgent need to form a new government, which has been held up for four months by power struggles between the main Shi’ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties. Qazi, who has until now kept a low profile in Iraqi politics, was in the southern holy city of Najaf to hold talks with top Shi’ite clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.Baghdad’s Sunni Arab stronghold of Adhamiyah was smoldering after two days of gun battles between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces that left five rebels dead and seven captured.Fears that Iraq was edging closer to civil war three years on from the US-led invasion have mounted after a wave of sectarian violence which has killed hundreds of people since February, adding to the instability in a country already embroiled in a deadly insurgency against the occupation.The killings have surged as Iraq struggles to form a governing coalition because of disputes over power-sharing among the dominant Shi’ites and the Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities.Qazi began his bridge-building mission by meeting Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Said al-Hakim in Najaf and was later scheduled to meet Sistani.On Tuesday, he called for the rapid formation of the country’s first permanent post-Saddam Hussein government, meant to be the final stage in Iraq’s political transition since the March 2003 US-led invasion.”The incident again underscored the importance of forming a government of national unity as quickly as possible,” he said, referring to the fighting in Adhamiyah.The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, also said a new government was needed to reign in violence.”We are trying to urge the politicians to quickly hold the parliament session,” Khalilzad told a local television.”We hope to solve the problems to end the deadlock as soon as possible…we need time but how much I do not know.The delay is not acceptable,” said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker.Fresh violence rocked the capital yesterday as rebels continued to exploit the political vacuum.- Nampa-AFPQazi, who has until now kept a low profile in Iraqi politics, was in the southern holy city of Najaf to hold talks with top Shi’ite clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.Baghdad’s Sunni Arab stronghold of Adhamiyah was smoldering after two days of gun battles between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces that left five rebels dead and seven captured.Fears that Iraq was edging closer to civil war three years on from the US-led invasion have mounted after a wave of sectarian violence which has killed hundreds of people since February, adding to the instability in a country already embroiled in a deadly insurgency against the occupation.The killings have surged as Iraq struggles to form a governing coalition because of disputes over power-sharing among the dominant Shi’ites and the Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities.Qazi began his bridge-building mission by meeting Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Said al-Hakim in Najaf and was later scheduled to meet Sistani.On Tuesday, he called for the rapid formation of the country’s first permanent post-Saddam Hussein government, meant to be the final stage in Iraq’s political transition since the March 2003 US-led invasion.”The incident again underscored the importance of forming a government of national unity as quickly as possible,” he said, referring to the fighting in Adhamiyah.The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, also said a new government was needed to reign in violence.”We are trying to urge the politicians to quickly hold the parliament session,” Khalilzad told a local television.”We hope to solve the problems to end the deadlock as soon as possible…we need time but how much I do not know.The delay is not acceptable,” said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker.Fresh violence rocked the capital yesterday as rebels continued to exploit the political vacuum.- Nampa-AFP