Iraqi leader under fire after week of mayhem

HOPES that a government of national unity could quickly defuse conflict between Iraq's ethnic groups and prepare the way for the early withdrawal of US and British troops were thrown into doubt on Thursday after Kurdish and Sunni politicians rejected the majority Shia bloc's choice of prime minister.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari has been blamed for failing to provide the leadership necessary to bring the past week's mayhem under control. His competence after nearly a year as prime minister had already been widely questioned, and he has been accused of permitting Shia death squads to operate within uniformed security forces.

"The Kurdish and the Sunni groups think that he [al-Jaafari] is not appropriate and they cannot form a Cabinet with him as he is not neutral," Mahmud Othman, a senior Kurdish politician said.

Alaa Maki, a leading Sunni parliamentarian, said: "He was unable to control the security situation... and what has happened in the last few days is a proof of what we have said."

Al-Jaafari is the Shia choice to lead the Cabinet for the next four years. A new government has still not been formed more than two months after a general election.

The political crisis comes after a bloody week of sectarian slaughter in which hundreds have been murdered on the streets since the bombing of the Shia shrine in the city of Samarra. Those killed include 45 Sunni preachers and mosque employees.

Al-Jaafari responded to the calls for him to go by cancelling a meeting that had been arranged to revive stalled talks to form the new government.

The mild-mannered former medical doctor fled to London to escape Saddam Hussein's executioners. He rose to power in post-Saddam Iraq as a compromise figure for the Unified Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Shia parties.

He may be falling victim to a power struggle between the strong Kurdish group and the Shia parties who won the most seats in the election in December. Although the Shia parties hold the biggest share of the 275 seats in the National Assembly and are thus entitled to put forward a candidate as prime minister, they still need Kurdish support to govern.

It was not clear whether the Unified Iraqi Alliance would fight to keep al-Jaafari, or ditch him and put forward the vice-president, Adel Abdul Mahdi. Abdul Mahdi may prove unacceptable to the other ethnic groups, however, as he has been linked to hardline Shia militias.

If the process of government formation collapses over the issue of al-Jaafari, US hopes of stabilising Iraq and reducing troop numbers will further recede after they were called into question by the turmoil of the past week. - ©The Times News Service, London