UN envoy urges unity in Iraq

Warning that failure to elect leadership "risks plunging the country into chaos," UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov urged parliamentarians to choose a speaker on Sunday. The parliament called a special session for the weekend after talks had broken down several times and less than a week ago it appeared that the formation of a government could be postponed until August.

"It will only serve the interests of those who seek to divide the people of Iraq and destroy their chances for peace and prosperity," Mladenov said Saturday. "Iraq needs a team that can bring people together."

Iraqi politicians and world leaders have urged for weeks the swift formation of an inclusive government. Many blame incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the failure to do so.

Sunni lawmaker Dhafer al-Ani has said the "partition of Iraq will be the natural result" if the Shiite bloc could not put forward a candidate other than Maliki. Since Saddam Hussein's removal in 2003, the prime minister has come from Iraq's Shiite majority, the parliament speaker from the Sunni sect and, with one exception, the president from the Kurdish minority.

"If they insist on Maliki as the prime minister, then we will withdraw from the government," Ani said earlier this week. "I believe that it would be hard for any Sunni politician to raise his hand and vote for Maliki as prime minister for a third term."

Even Bayan Jaber, a former interior and finance minister, said Thursday that he hoped his Shiite National Alliance, in which Maliki's State of Law coalition remains the biggest group, could choose a better nominee by Sunday. He said that if Maliki remained the sole nominee, "the problem will remain."

Fighting continues

On Saturday, security forces backed by militia continued to fight insurgents that had seized a military base near Baghdad on Thursday. But fighters from the "Islamic State" (known as ISIS, its former acronym for the "Islamic State in Iraq and Syria") showed no sign of giving in.

The hospital in nearby Baquba had received the bodies of 15 Shiite militiamen. State TV also reported that 24 "terrorists" had died in the battle. Gunfire from military helicopters killed seven civilians, including children from nearby villages, police and medics said on Saturday.

Over the past month, security forces and affiliated militia appear to have unlawfully executed at least 255 prisoners in apparent revenge for killings by ISIS fighters, according to a Human Rights Watch report. The group also estimated that ISIS fighters have been responsible for the murders of 160 to 190 members of Iraq's security forces, in addition to those killed in combat.

mkg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)