Off the wire
• World's oldest man Yasutaro Koide dies aged 112  • World no. 2 Andy Murray calls on ATP to educate young players about corruption  • Clive Palmer owned refinery forced into administration  • China Hushen 300 index futures close higher Tuesday  • China treasury bond futures close lower Tuesday  • Tokyo stocks reverse earlier losses ending higher  • Chinese shares close higher Tuesday  • 2nd LD Writethru: 10 killed as blast hits check post in Pakistan's Peshawar  • Factbox: China by the numbers 2010 to 2015  • Mexico needs to invest in children under five, says UNICEF  
You are here: 　 Home

Iraq's Sunni lawmakers, ministers to boycott parliament, cabinet sessions

Xinhua, January 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iraq's Sunni lawmakers and ministers have decided to boycott Tuesday's parliament and government sessions to protest against the violence targeting the Sunni Arab community in the eastern province of Diyala, an official said on Tuesday.

A coalition of Sunni Arab parliament members and Sunni ministers in the Iraqi Council of Ministers "decided to boycott today's sessions" to protest against the deterioration of security in the town of Maqdadiyah, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, and the killings that targeted the Sunni community by militias, a parliament official and Sunni politician told Xinhua.

The decision was made after a meeting of the Sunni coalition late Monday night at the house of Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri, a Sunni, in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, the official said.

The Sunni lawmakers will attend the parliament sessions to read a statement, demanding the government to bring criminals to justice before they walk out of the parliament, the official said, adding that the boycott is for Tuesday only and the coalition will decide later if it should go for a longer time.

Sectarian tensions in Maqdadiyah flared up after the massive bombings in June, 2015, by the Islamic State militant group, which have pushed Shiite militiamen to bomb and burn several Sunni mosques and tens of shops owned by Sunnis in the town, along with executing dozens of Sunni residents in retaliatory attacks.

The violence continued during the following days, despite attempts by some Shiite politicians and religious leaders to ease the tensions in the town. Endit