Word: sunni
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...second deadline bore down on Iraqi politicians trying to hammer out a constitution, Sunni members of the drafting committee called for another delay in presenting the charter. Fundamental issues-such as the role of Islam and the question of federalism-remained unresolved Monday evening. Nonetheless, by 8:30 p.m. in Baghdad Shi'ite legislators were saying a draft was ready. As news of the possible draft trickled out, Shi'ites celebrated in the streets of Najaf and Sunni negotiators held grim press conferences. At 11:40 p.m., the drafters sent a document to parliament that with the issue of federalism...
...What happened? As the day wore on, it seemed there were agreements on the role of Islam and Kurdish autonomy, but federalism remained a sticking point. The Sunni Arabs refused to accept the principle of a southern federal region as demanded by the head of SCIRI, a religious Shi'ite party with ties to Iran. So the Shi'ite and Kurdish delegates stopped including the Sunnis in talks. "In the last two days, there have been no general meetings including everybody," said Kurdish committee member Mahmoud Othman. Instead, he said, the negotiations were held between "interested parties," which usually included...
...Kurds and Shi'ites crafted a deal between themselves and spent Monday evening trying to convince the Sunnis to come on board. They failed. "They are trying to push us aside," said Sunni negotiator Saleh Mutlak. Finally, the chairman of the committee, Sheikh Humam al-Hamoudi of SCIRI, presented a draft to the parliament without settling the issue of federalism. Fuming Sunnis warned darkly of civil war while pledging to vote down the document in the October referendum...
These days Sunni and Shi'ite friends still sometimes sit together in the cafés, but the carefree ways of the past are gone. "Beneath our smiles, our hearts have closed," says a former army officer, a Sunni. "We no longer trust them, nor do they trust us." Residents believe the killers come from outside Washash, but they know there are informers within. Armed Shi'ite vigilantes patrol the streets, questioning strangers. Because Shi'ites are in the majority in Washash, the Sunnis tend to suffer more. Twenty-five Sunni men disappeared into police custody on Aug. 12, according...
Gunmen in a car opened fire late last month on traffic police at a Washash crossroads. The men were chased down. One was shot dead, and three others were captured. They were Shi'ites but confessed to being hit men on the payroll of Ansar al-Sunnah, a Sunni rebel group. What's more, they revealed the names of several informers in Washash. As word of the capture began to circulate, families of the victims flocked to the police station, seeking the names of the assassins. One relative told TIME that police officers demanded a $500 bribe before giving...