Sunni bloc set for return to government

BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- The main Sunni block, the Iraqi Accordance Front, is set to return to the Iraq central government after a near yearlong boycott, officials said Tuesday.

The IAF withdrew from the unity government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, in August over a series of political disputes. The group had earlier submitted a list of candidates for six ministerial positions but withdrew once again over disputes involving Planning Minister Ali Baban.

Baban rejected the boycott in August and stayed on as the planning minister, causing his fellow Sunni lawmakers to brand him as a "traitor."

Accordance Front spokesman and Iraqi lawmaker Saleem Abdallah said the group submitted a new list to the Maliki government for five of the previous six ministerial posts. Maliki approved the list, he said, and the group now waited for parliamentary approval before moving forward, Alalam News reported.

The Accordance Front is petitioning for ministerial seats for culture, foreign affairs, women's affairs, higher education and deputy prime minister.

Sunni lawmaker Omar al-Karbuli told Alalam a Monday meeting between Maliki and Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, the highest-ranking Sunni lawmaker in Iraq, focused on the return of the Accordance Front to the Maliki government. Hashimi said following the conclusion of the meeting there "will be good news in the next few days as a result of our talks."