Iraq cabinet bars ministers, testing coalition
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government on Tuesday barred three ministers from a Sunni-backed bloc who had been boycotting cabinet meetings; the formal decision to keep them away is likely to further test a fragile power-sharing deal. The measure targeted Sunni-backed Iraqiya, which has sought to boycott parliament and the cabinet since Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered […]Ahmed Rasheed reports for Reuters:
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government on Tuesday barred three ministers from a Sunni-backed bloc who had been boycotting cabinet meetings; the formal decision to keep them away is likely to further test a fragile power-sharing deal.
The measure targeted Sunni-backed Iraqiya, which has sought to boycott parliament and the cabinet since Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the country's Sunni vice-president, heightening fears of an upsurge in sectarian violence after last month's withdrawal of U.S. forces.
