Iraq MPs 'come to blows' in sign of tensions

Two rival Iraqi lawmakers came to blows on Sunday at a time of rising tension between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite bloc and a Sunni-backed alliance, a parliamentary source told AFP. The increasingly frayed ties between the two camps, which finished neck-and-neck in a March 2010 election and are now part of a national unity government, have sparked concern over major issues left unresolved. The fight started after Kamal Saadi from Maliki's State of Law alliance beat the Sunni-backed Iraqiya party's Haidar al-Mulla with his walking stick inside the parliamentary cafe, the source said. "Saadi beat Mulla with his cane, and when he tried to react, other MPs pulled them apart," the source said on condition of anonymity. During a television interview on Saturday evening, Mulla made seemingly insulting accusations against Saadi, which led to the altercation, the source added. "Mulla said in the media that I am a liar. I asked him to apologise, but he didn't," Saadi told AFP, denying however that a fight had taken place. Mulla was not immediately available for comment. Tensions have been on the rise between Maliki and Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi, whose party won last year's election by a slender margin but was unable to muster the seats for a majority. Maliki, whose bloc finished second in last year's poll, became prime minister after more than nine months of deadlock and infighting. Last week, Maliki charged his political rivals were trying to sabotage government projects in an effort to portray him as ineffective. Newspapers have quoted official sources as saying that Maliki had accused Allawi of organising Friday's anti-government protests in Baghdad and several other cities. "The current verbal dispute between Maliki and Allawi is the worst in months between the two biggest blocs in government," said Al-Adala newspaper in an editorial. "The dispute comes at a time when major controversial issues should be heading towards a solution." Hundreds took to the streets to denounce what they said was a lack of government progress after a 100-day deadline set by Maliki. In Baghdad, thousand of pro-government supporters also showed up to shift the focus.