Iraq Sunni bloc on verge of rejoining government

By Mohammed Abbas and Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc is close to rejoining the Shi'ite-led government, officials said on Tuesday, a move that would amount to a long-awaited political breakthrough.

Getting the Accordance Front to return to government after it quit nearly a year ago is widely seen as a key step in reconciling feuding factions after years of sectarian conflict. Sunni Arabs have little voice in the current cabinet, which is dominated by Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds.

Asked if the Front was set to rejoin, spokesman Salim al-Jubouri said: "Yes. Many of our demands have been executed ... sharing of responsibility, the issuance of the amnesty law."

An amnesty law passed in February has freed many prisoners from the minority Sunni Arab community. Sunni Arabs form the bulk of inmates after security forces detained thousands in security sweeps at the height of a Sunni Arab insurgency.

Jubouri said the Front had put forward names for cabinet posts to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Maliki would submit the names and their proposed ministries before a parliamentary vote, although he did not say when.

"There has been agreement with the Accordance Front that their share will be six ministerial posts, except the post of the Planning Ministry, which will be decided later," he said.

The Front pulled out of Maliki's cabinet last August, demanding the release of mainly Sunni Arab detainees and calling for a greater say in security matters.

On several occasions in the past it has appeared ready to rejoin the government, only for obstacles to suddenly emerge.

But Maliki's recent crackdowns against Shi'ite militias in Iraq's oil producing south, as well as the Shi'ite Baghdad slum of Sadr City, has also been welcomed by the Front and was one reason it had decided to rejoin the government, Jubouri said.

Sunni Arab politicians have long been critical of Maliki's earlier reluctance to confront Shi'ite militias, including the Mehdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The political wing of Sadr's movement helped Maliki into power.

The Front wanted the ministries of planning, culture, foreign affairs, higher education, women, and a post of deputy prime minister, as well as either the justice or transport ministries, Jubouri said. Some of these are vacant.

CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL FALLS IN JUNE

The apparent political progress coincides with violence levels hovering at four-year lows in Iraq.

The number of civilians killed in June fell despite a few big bombings, government figures showed on Tuesday.