The Government Gets Extremely Violent in Iraq

Tens of civilians were killed on Thursday by gunmen and their bodies were dumped in a ditch, following the orders of the government to stem the violence which caused more than 110 deaths since the Shiite shrine attacks. The killings occurred at about 4 a.m. in the town Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

The gunmen invaded a house where more that 20 Shiite lived and after separating men from women, shot five Shiite men. Fighting arose in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad, between Sunni forces and Shiite militiamen loyal. The bodies of 47 civilians, mostly Sunni and Shiite men, were found thrown in a ditch near Baqouba.

Furthermore, Sunni leaders announced that they are suspending negotiations with the Shiite and Kurdish groups, stating that it is "not acceptable to negotiate with people who are harming us." After Shiite and Sunni leaders appealed to calm and the government extended the curfew, the violence decreased in intensity.

George Bush called the shrine bombing an evil act, aimed to incite violence.

Shiite and Sunni cast the blame on each other; Abdul-Salam al-Kubaisi, from the Sunni association, accused Shiite clerics, among which Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The largest Sunni party in the parliament announced that it will not start the discussion of a new parliament until the national leadership apologized for the attacks aimed at their mosques.

The participation of the Sunni group in the government is considered by the U.S. crucial in calming the increasing violence. Sunnis also boycotted a meeting aimed at the reconciliation between the Shiites and the Kurds.

Talking about the Shiite coalition which controls the government, Tariq al-Hashemi, the leader of the Islamic Party, stated "It has been proven to us beyond any shadow of a doubt that the United Iraqi Alliance, particularly the al-Sadrist trend, and the external parties associated with them were behind what has happened to us."