Sunni elders to run in Iraqi elections

RAMADI, Iraq, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The Sunni tribal elders in the western Iraqi province of Anbar will form an electoral bloc to run in the provincial elections, a top official said.

Anbar Salvation Council Chairman Hamid al-Hayis told London's Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the tribal councils in Iraq, consisting of the Salvation Council, the Awakening Council and other tribal leaders, will form a united bloc called the Al-Anbar Salvation Council to run in the upcoming provincial and parliamentary elections.

Hayis and Abdel Sattar Abu Rishah, who died in a car bombing in August 2007, united to form the Anbar Salvation Council to challenge al-Qaida in the region. They later changed their name to Awakening following an agreement with U.S. forces in Iraq. Differences between the two evolved, and Hayis loyalists chose to retain the name al-Inqaz, or Salvation, as a sub-council within the Awakening movement.

Hayis blamed the Islamic Party of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, for allowing al-Qaida fighters to enter Anbar and pledged to shut down party offices in the region.

"We will form an alliance with anyone except the Islamic Party or any other extremist party," he said. "We have demanded a role in the government in order to activate the law."