Iraq Shi'ites urge PM to quit

Ibrahim al-Jaafari

BAGHDAD - Leaders of Iraq's ruling Shi'ite Alliance bloc have called publicly for the first time for Ibrahim al-Jaafari to step down as prime minister to break weeks of deadlock over a national unity government.

Meanwhile, a US combat helicopter has crashed, the military said. It did not know if the crew survived.

A militant group said it shot down the aircraft near Baghdad and a local official said residents saw a two-seater Apache gunship take fire and crash.

The move against Jaafari, declared publicly by one leader and echoed, anonymously, by others came as parties held their latest round of talks on a grand coalition with Kurds and Sunnis. They remain adamant in their rejection of Jaafari.

Those talks, which officials hope can ultimately avert civil war, ended Saturday's session with a significant compromise deal on how security issues will be handled once a cabinet is formed.

A US diplomat reiterated it was Washington's "analysis" that Jaafari had not scored well on two key criteria for prime minister -- his ability to unite Iraqis and his competence as a leader. But, he stressed to reporters, "We have no preference."

He denied comments from rival Shi'ite leaders that President George W. Bush had directly asked them to drop Jaafari.

US and Iraqi officials say a unity government, more than three months after December's election, is vital to averting all-out war after five weeks of spiralling sectarian bloodshed.

"I call on Jaafari to take a courageous step and set a fine example by stepping down," Kasim Daoud, a senior member of the independent group within the Alliance, told Reuters.

A top aide to Jaafari immediately rejected the call.

US military spokesmen would say of the lost helicopter only that it went down southwest of Baghdad around dusk and "the status of the crew is unknown". The little known Rashedeen Army said in a message posted on the internet before the military statement that it shot down a helicopter near Yusufiya.

A local official in the town said residents saw an Apache come down and crash. The area is a refuge for Sunni insurgents who have claimed the downings of many of the more than 50 helicopters lost in three years of war.

A Marine involved in a clash with insurgents on Friday died, bringing the number of deaths in March among US troops to 30, the lowest monthly toll in two years. But Iraqi casualties have been rising.

Jaafari won the Alliance nomination in an internal ballot in February by a single vote over the candidate of the bloc's most powerful party, aided by Iranian-backed cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

But senior Alliance officials, speaking anonymously, said four of seven main groups within the bloc now wanted him to give up the nomination for a second term if, as is all but certain, he fails within a day or two to persuade Sunni and Kurdish parties to drop their refusal to serve in a cabinet under him.

"Daoud's call is supported by at least 60 per cent of Alliance members of parliament," another senior Alliance official from another group within the bloc told Reuters.

"We need another 24 hours before starting the battle."

The United States, anxious for calm that would let it start pulling out its troops, has stepped up pressure for a coalition seen as critical to stemming sectarian violence that has killed hundreds since a major Shi'ite shrine was bombed a month ago.

Privately, rival Alliance leaders have been turning against Jaafari but the call on Saturday was their first public stand against Jaafari, who critics say has failed to stem violence and bolster the economy in his year as interim prime minister.

Some also view the soft-spoken Islamist physician's reliance on the Iranian-backed Sadr with suspicion.

Dozens of Jaafari supporters took to the streets in Baghdad, holding a mock funeral with a coffin labelled "Democracy".

- REUTERS