Iraqi govt at odds over missing hostages (utter chaos within the Gov)

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061115/ts_nm/iraq_dc

Iraqi govt at odds over missing hostages

By Claudia Parsons and Alastair Macdonald 59 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A day after a mass kidnap from a Baghdad ministry raised fears Iraq's sectarian militias are out of control, government leaders gave sharply differing accounts on Wednesday of whether dozens of hostages were still missing.


The minister whose staff were targeted said up to 80 were still unaccounted for, possibly held by Shi'ite militia, but the government spokesman said only two to five people were missing.

Higher Education Minister Abd Dhiab, from the Sunni Arab minority, told Reuters that until the hostages were found he would boycott the U.S.-sponsored national unity government led by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

"I have suspended my participation as a minister with the government until those people who have been kidnapped are released," he said.

"If I can't save and protect the lives of the people in my ministry, whether professors or employees or students, there is no use my staying in the ministry."