Sunni return to government bridges divides

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- The return to the Iraqi government by the main Sunni political bloc signals a move toward further political reconciliation, officials said.

Members of the Sunni Iraq Accordance Front Tuesday announced it would submit a list of five ministers for approval by the Iraqi Parliament. The group withdrew from the unity government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in August over disputes regarding power-sharing arrangements and the release of Sunni prisoners from custody.

Leaders with the Accordance Front said the Maliki government had met their concerns and it was time to consider a return to government.

"We feel that a great deal of (our demands) have been fulfilled," said Accordance Front spokesman Salim Abdullah al-Jubori.

They also said the decision recently by Maliki to target Shiite militias affiliated with radical cleric Moqtada Sadr was a sign Baghdad was moving to bridge the sectarian divide, the Financial Times said Wednesday.

The return of the Accordance Front would give Sunni politicians a larger role in the Iraqi government, which has been dominated largely by members of the Shiite and Kurdish communities.

The group had made gestures it would return to the government by submitting a list of six ministers for positions in the Maliki government but withdrew over disputes regarding the planning minister.