Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
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Iraq's Assembly to Convene March 16, Anniversary of Attack on
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Kurds
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C05951:2AB91D3

Iraqi officials will continue work on cabinet assignments in hopes a
new government can be finalized before National Assembly convenes
Iraq's National Assembly is set to hold its first meeting ten days
from now, whether a new government is named or not.

The country's three main political parties have failed to form a
ruling coalition in the five weeks since elections were held. Some
Iraqis have expressed frustration that the new National Assembly has
not yet taken on the governance of the country.

An Iraqi official says the assembly will convene with or without an
agreement on who will be the country's prime minister.

The March 16 date for the session marks the anniversary of a chemical
weapon attack by former president Saddam Hussein's forces on the
Kurdish town of Halabja. An estimated five thousand people died in the
1988 attack.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.


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