Iraqi Unity A Casualty Of Retaliations

Maliki appeals for unity, Baghdad hit by blasts

Mon Jul 10, 2006

By Lutfi Abu Oun and Ross Colvin
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-07-10T112638Z_01_L20719326_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-1

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pleaded for Iraqis to "unite as brothers" on Monday as deadly bomb blasts rocked Baghdad, a day after 60 people were killed in a dramatic escalation of sectarian violence in the city.

"Our destiny is to work together in brotherhood to defeat terrorism and insurgency," he told the Kurdish regional parliament in northern Iraq. "We have no choice but to defeat those who want to return us to the black days."

A sharp rise in bloodletting between Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs has raised new fears of a slide to all-out civil war and dealt a blow to Shiite Maliki's efforts to encourage Sunnis to end their support for the Sunni-dominated insurgency.

President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, also appealed for unity: "We stand today on the edge of a slippery slope," he said.

Iraq Shi'ites see reasons for death squad killings

Mon Jul 10, 2006

By Mariam Karouny
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-10T124120Z_01_IBO961766_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-SHIITES.xml

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - While condemning in public the sectarian death squads that gunned down 40 people on Sunday in a Sunni part of Baghdad, some Iraqi Shi'ite leaders say in private retaliation for Sunni insurgent bomb attacks is understandable.

Shi'ite leaders, talking privately on Monday, spoke with resignation, saying more bloodshed is inevitable in Iraq's culture of vendetta and that clerical restraint on Shi'ites is flagging in the face of repeated Sunni bombings.

"It is very, very difficult for us to justify why we are not taking revenge," said a senior Shi'ite figure linked to one of the most powerful militia groups, saying that his movement was not carrying out killings but could understand those who were.

"With every car bomb and every attack on a Shi'ite mosque our people are calling us and accusing us of being cowards," said the official, who like others interviewed asked not to be identified.