Sunnis tell Shi'ites they still reject Jaafari

BAGHDAD, Apr 10 (Reuters) Iraq's biggest Arab Sunni bloc said today its rejection of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister was final, stepping up pressure on his Shi'ite Alliance to break a deadlock over forming a unity government.

Dhafir al-Ani, spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, said the bloc had informed the Alliance of ''the continuation of our stand'' to reject Jaafari.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader, officially informed the Alliance on Sunday that the Kurdish bloc would not drop its opposition to Jaafari, a soft-spoken physician who has been digging in as calls for his resignation mount.

The Alliance was expected to meet today to make a final decision on Jaafari.

''After we formally hear from the other lists, like the Iraqiya, which will also refuse to work with Jaafari, then we will today sit down in the Alliance and decide,'' said a senior Alliance source.

Although the Alliance has the biggest bloc in parliament it falls just short of an overall majority so Shi'ite leaders need the Kurds and Sunnis to form a unity government.

They accuse Jaafari of monopolising power and failing to lead the country out of its many woes, and even his partners in the Alliance oppose him but the Dawa party leader has refused to step down.

Iraq's acting speaker of parliament said yesterday he would call on the assembly to convene in the next few days, raising the possibility the political paralysis may end.

Some leaders say taking the Jaafari issue to a parliamentary vote is the only way out of political paralysis but that could damage the Shi'ite bloc, which is already deeply divided.

BURY DIFFERENCES The United States and Britain will be watching today's political developments very closely after repeatedly urging Iraqi leaders to bury their differences and fill a political vacuum that is fuelling violence.

A planned meeting between the United States and Iran on stability in Iraq had raised hopes that the neighbouring power could use its influence over fellow Shi'ites leading the Iraqi government and help push the political process forward.

But US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who will represent Washington in the talks, said yesterday the meeting will not be held until after an Iraqi government was formed.

Even if the stalemate is broken, the new prime minister will still have to prove to demoralised Iraqis that the insurgent suicide bombings, militia death squads, and sectarian killings that leave tortured bodies on the streets will end one day.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hit a raw nerve among Iraqis when he said in comments broadcast by al Arabiya satellite channel on Saturday that civil war had started in their country.

The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government, eager to project an image of unity, strongly criticised Mubarak, after he said Shi'ites were more loyal to Iran than their own Arab countries, echoing accusations made by Iraqi Sunnis.

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