Hundreds of Iraqi civilians are killed in a week of bloodshed as efforts to form a new government remain deadlocked, writes Salah Hemeid Seven successive blasts ripped through residential buildings across Baghdad on Tuesday, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians in the second such attack in three days. On Sunday the Iraqi capital was rocked by three suicide car bombings, minutes apart, that targeted Arab and European embassies, killing 30 people and wounding more than 200, followed a day later by more explosions. The blasts came on top of the cold-blooded murder on Saturday of 25 members of the pro-government militia the Sunni Awakening Councils in a village south of the capital. In addition, several Iraqi government and police officials have been executed by gunmen using silencers while others escaped assassination attempts and police say they have found dozens of explosives ready to be detonated in residential areas of Baghdad. It is still unclear who is behind the carnage. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki blamed terrorist groups that "want to disrupt stability in the country" amid ongoing wrangling over the formation of a government following last month's elections. Some Iraqi officials blamed the terror network of Al-Qaeda for the violence. It has claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past. Whoever is behind the explosions, they appear to be carefully planned to sabotage negotiations to form a stable government after the election failed to produce a clear winner. They may also be an attempt to provoke mayhem by reigniting a sectarian conflict reminiscent of the sectarian bloodshed that tore Iraq apart from 2005 to 2007. The massacre of 25 Sunni Muslim men south of Baghdad and the bombings of residential areas that destroyed at least five buildings in working-class Shia Muslim areas of the capital have raised fears among Iraqis that a new sectarian war could erupt. As for the attacks against foreign embassies, the motive was crystal clear -- to scare foreign diplomats and force their governments to close their missions in Baghdad and leave the country. Egypt was swift to declare that it will not shut down its embassy in Baghdad, sending a strong message that it won't bow to the terrorists who want to isolate Iraq from its Arab brothers. "The situation in Iraq does not permit any Arab or Egyptian retreat from Iraq," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki Monday. The new wave of violence comes as Iraqi politicians grapple to build a new coalition government following last month's inconclusive parliamentary election. Iyad Allawi, whose bloc came out ahead in the vote by two seats over Al-Maliki's, said the political deadlock was behind the new wave of violence. He voiced concern on Tuesday that more bloodshed lies ahead, blaming "powers who want to obstruct the path of democracy" behind the week's violence. All Iraq's major coalitions have issued competing claims of fraud and irregularities in the parliamentary contest. The sides, who are manoeuvring to see who can form a ruling coalition, also exchanged blame for the deadlock amid efforts to form a new government and warnings the stalemate could deteriorate along sectarian lines. Al-Maliki has urged restraint on the part of his rivals, acknowledging the country's security situation is under threat. He warned that militants were trying to push Iraq into "civil strife and chaos". Surprisingly, Iraq's feuding politicians have taken their manoeuvring abroad, seeking help from neighbouring countries to form the new government. Iraq's joint Vice-President Adel Abdel-Mahdi travelled to Turkey, Syria and Jordan this week in an attempt for canvas for regional cooperation to help end the government crisis. Vice-President Tariq Al-Hashemi, meanwhile, visited several Gulf nations in a similar bid, while a delegation representing Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr discussed the Iraqi elections with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal. The moves came despite earlier accusations that neighbouring nations are interfering in Iraq's internal affairs. Washington insists the upsurge of violence in Baghdad will not compromise its goal of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq by 1 September. The attacks, said US commander General Ray Odierno, have not threatened US ability to draw down its forces later this year. Some officials in Washington suggest privately that, even should the bloodshed worsen, the administration will adhere to its strict timeline. President Barack Obama has ordered all US combat troops be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August and all American soldiers to be out of the country by the end of next year. In Baghdad, however, there was tangible concern that this week's massacres were a sign the country's fragile security is dissolving in and that simmering sectarian frictions could once more explode if duelling politicians continue to blame each other for the attacks. (see pp.2&8)
