Sunni bloc to withdraw from Iraqi government

The head of the largest Sunni political bloc today said Prime Minister Nouri Maliki had not met the group’s demands and it would go ahead with a planned withdrawal from the Iraqi government.

The resignation of six Cabinet ministers from the Iraqi Accordance Front could erase the government’s “national unity” status and diminish its legitimacy – a serious blow at a time when it needs to move swiftly on legislation the United States considers critical to reconciliation of Iraq’s Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish factions.