More than 200 Sunni sheiks in Iraq's western Anbar province have decided to form a new political party to oppose al-Qaida, participants said Friday. The men met Thursday in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital, and agreed to form a new party called Iraq Awakening, said Sheik Jubeir Rashid, a participant at the meeting. The group would be a national party, with a platform of opposition to al-Qaida and cooperation with the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, organizers said.
The Iraq Awakening party would not be linked to any existing Sunni groups, Rashid said. "We have no trust in the current Sunni political parties, because they have given nothing to the citizens except lies and false promises," he said. |