Armed factions’ entry into political process to improve security – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The announcement made by armed factions to participate in the political process will help improve security conditions in Iraq in the future, according to an Iraqi legislator on Thursday. “The issue of national reconciliation is not raised today, but has been adopted by the Iraqi government a few years ago,” Batul Farouq, a member of parliament from the Iraqi National Alliance, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “This improvement would not have impact on the short run but rather in the future,” she said, noting the factions that entered the negotiations and political process are not necessarily the parties involved in violence against civilians. Iraq’s ministry of state for national reconciliation had announced that five armed factions had laid down arms and joined the country’s political process as the status of forces agreement (SOFA) signed between Iraq and the United States has entered into effect. The factions had publicly “disowned” anyone involved in targeting Iraqis. AmR (TP) 654