Baghdad: Iraq's prime minister yesterday rejected the resignation of cabinet ministers from the country's largest Sunni Arab bloc, and asked the six ministers to rejoin his government.
Ministers from the Iraqi Accordance Front, which also holds 44 of parliament's 275 seats, quit Nouri Al Maliki's government on Wednesday. The move left only two Sunnis in the 40-member body, casting doubt on the government's 'national unity' status and undermining the prime minister's efforts to unite rival factions and pass laws the US considers benchmarks that could lead to sectarian reconciliation.
The Accordance Front said its decision to pull out of government was sealed by what it called Al Maliki's failure to respond to a set of demands: the release of security detainees not charged with specific crimes, the disbanding of militias and the participation of all groups represented in the government in dealing with security issues.
After meeting yesterday with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Vice-President Adil Abdul Mahdi, the prime minister signalled he was not ready to give in completely to the Front's demands.
But Adnan Al Dulaimi, head of the Accordance Front, said yesterday that the ministers were committed to resigning their jobs.
"We are still insisting and determined to abandon Al Maliki's government because of its failure. If all our demands are met, then we will have another say at that time," Al Dulaimi said.
"We will not abandon any of our demands, as we will not abandon any of our detainees," he said.
