Sunni groups form political alliance in Iraq

[Spazito]

Sat. May. 21 2005 11:51 AM ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A thousand Sunnis assembled in the Iraqi capital Saturday and formed an alliance of religious, political and tribal groups to push for a stronger role in the country's Shiite-dominated power structure.

With sectarian tension and violence on the rise, the new organization immediately called for the resignation of the interior minister, a Shiite whose office, it said, had a role in killing several Sunni clerics.

Bayan Jabr, the minister, denied allegations government involvement in the killings and said he would not step down.

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Sectarian tension has been high throughout the country and Sunni extremists are believed to be driving Iraq's relentless insurgency, with more than 520 people killed since Iraq's Shiite-led government was announced April 28.

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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1116690714715_25/?hub=World

(This article is a good summary of what has been happening in Iraq in the last few days.)

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1. Iraqi Sunnis demand dismissal of interior minister

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/May/focusoniraq_May148.xml§ion=focusoniraq

BAGHDAD - An improvised congress of leading figures in Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority on Saturday demanded Interior Minister Bayan Baqer Solagh be sacked for the alleged involvement of his services in anti-Sunni killings.

A statement issued after some 1,000 representatives of the disempowered community gathered in Baghdad accused the Shiite minister of being responsible for the assassination of several Sunnis, including three imams.

“We ask for the creation of an independent investigation team to look into the murders, the torture of detainees and we demand the interior minister’s dismissal,” the statement said.

“We condemn the raids and arrests of imams and worshippers in mosques under the cover of law,” the document also said.