Iraqi Lawmakers Meet Amid Rifts on Maliki’s Political Future
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Iraq’s parliament convened in Baghdad today amid speculation political leaders will fail to bridge differences on naming a prime minister who can narrow sectarian and ethnic divisions as an Islamist insurgency rages.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, had urged the appointment by today of a leader able to “avoid sectarianism” and prevent the country’s breakup. Pressure has increased on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step aside amid criticism by domestic opponents and world leaders that his Shiite-led government has marginalized minority Sunnis, some of whom have swung behind the militants.