Militias could spark Iraq civil war - PM-designate

BAGHDAD, Apr 25 (Reuters) Prime Minister-Designate Jawad al-Maliki today said in comments broadcast that failure to disband militias threatened to push Iraq into civil war.

''The weapons must be in the hands of the state. Their presence in the hands of others (militias) will be the start of problems that will trigger a civil war,'' he said in an interview broadcast on state television today.

Reuters SHB DB2358