Allawi: crisis tearing Iraq apart

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BAGHDAD — Iraq needs new leaders to prevent the country from disintegrating, the leader of the main Sunni-backed bloc said Wednesday, reflecting the severity of a sectarian political battle in the Shiite-led government, accompanied by violence, just a month after the exit of U.S. forces.

The leader of the Iraqiya bloc, Ayad Allawi, was responding to a bold step by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, issuing an arrest warrant against the nation’s top Sunni official, sending him into virtual internal exile.

“Iraq is at a crossroads and I say that Iraq needs forgiving leaders, who will raise above their personal hatred,” Allawi told a new conference in Baghdad, accusing the government of stoking sectarian tensions to divert attention from its failures.

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The government crisis has intensified sectarian resentments that have remained raw in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed fierce fighting between Sunni and Shiite militias battling for dominance and killing tens of thousands civilians on both sides of the sectarian divide just a few years ago.

Attacks have surged since the last U.S. troops left Dec. 18.