Maliki Says Iraq Will Not Slide Into Civil War
24 July 2006
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his country will not slide into civil war, despite a wave of deadly sectarian violence in recent weeks.
Mr. Maliki says his unity government is working to resolve the sectarian problem and disarm militias responsible for the violence. He was speaking on British radio in London Monday, ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Iraqi prime minister confirmed a recent United Nations report that almost 100 civilians were killed every day in Iraq on average in May and June.
Mr. Maliki says coalition troops will be able to leave Iraq when Iraqi forces are more developed, a process that he said will not take decades or even years.
The Iraqi prime minister also will visit Washington Tuesday for a meeting with President Bush.
In Iraq, authorities have resumed the trial of former dictator Saddam Hussein, but without the key defendant. Saddam is in a hospital being fed through a tube after being on a hunger strike for more than two weeks.
U.S. military officials say Saddam is voluntarily receiving nutrition through a feeding tube and that his life is not in danger.
Saddam's defense team is boycotting today's court session to protest what it says is the lack of security for lawyers. The defense team was due to resume its summing up today after a two-week break.
Sunday was a particularly deadly day in Iraq, with car bombs killing more than 60 people.
Two separate blasts in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood killed 42 people, while a car bomb killed 20 people in the northern town of Kirkuk.
In another incident, the U.S. military says an American soldier was killed by what it called "enemy action" Saturday in al-Anbar province.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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