MESOP : THE IRAQ TROUBLE CONTINUES WITHOUT END

Sunnis Suspends Participation in Iraqi Government and Parliament / Sunni Ministers have joined parliament members in protest of murder of Sunni Sheikh

Basnews – 15.02.2015 – BAGHDAD – The National Alliance Force and the Iraqi National Alliance, two major Sunni blocks in Iraq, decided on Sunday to suspend the participation of their members in the meetings of the Iraqi Parliament and Iraqi Council of Ministers, due to the recent murder of a Sunni Sheikh.

The decision was made after the assassination of Sunni tribal Sheikh ,Qasim Swidan al- Janabi, his son and the bodyguards of his nephew MP for national forces coalition [A Sunni Bloc] Zaid al-Janabi.The Sunni Ministers in Iraqi Cabinet have suspended attending the Council of Ministers’ meetings for 4 days as well as Sunni MPs of the Iraqi Alliance Force which consists mainly of Sunnis, and the National Alliance led by Iraqi vice-president Ayyad Alawi.

The Sunni politicians held a meeting on Saturday and decided to suspend their work in Parliament and the government and called on the Iraqi authorities to investigate the murder. According to reports, the Shiite militants opened fire on Sheikh Qasim Swedan and his son and guards Friday last week. Everyone was killed apart from the MP, and left their bodies in Sha’b area of Baghdad. Then The Sunni MP Zaid al-Janabi was kidnapped and released after the unknown attackers broke his leg and hand. So far the Iraqi government hasn’t commented on the murder of the Sunni Sheikh and the kidnapping of the Iraqi Sunni MP.