UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Tuesday welcomed the prospective return of Iraq's Sunni Muslim representatives to the committee drafting a constitution.
The Sunnis had withdrawn last week after two of their members were assassinated.
Annan, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, pledged continued U.N. support for the political transition in Iraq.
Saying he was "encouraged" by the agreement between the government and the Sunni Conference enabling the return, Annan also commended the Transitional Government's decision to conduct an independent criminal investigation into the assassinations.
"Those responsible should be apprehended and prosecuted," the Annan statement added.
"The Secretary-General urges all Iraqi parties to continue working together to achieve consensus around a new permanent constitution within the established timeframe," the statement said.
