Iraqi parties work out security details

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi political parties have agreed that every security checkpoint in Baghdad will have an equal number of Shiite and Sunni troops in an effort to ensure the security forces do not allow sectarian attacks, officials said Tuesday.

The arrangement was the first reached under a new four-point security plan announced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki a week ago. It is aimed at uniting the divided parties behind security efforts to stop Shiite-Sunni killings that have killed thousands in Baghdad this year.

Al-Maliki's plan called for the creation of local Shiite-Sunni committees that will oversee policing in each district of Baghdad, reporting back to a Central Committee for Peace and Security to coordinate with the security forces and the prime minister.

The effort to balance the checkpoints that dot the streets of Baghdad underlines the deep mistrust between Shiites and Sunnis within al-Maliki's government. Each side accuses the other of backing militias, and Sunnis in particular say the Shiite-dominated police force often allows Shiite militias to carry out kidnappings and murders.

Read the rest at the Seattle Post Intelligencer

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