Iraqi government to meet rebels

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Iraq's new government plans to hold its first official meeting as early as tomorrow with members of the Sunni resistance in an effort to end the brutal violence that has left hundreds of civilians dead across the country.

Representatives of Sunni insurgent forces from the restive western al-Anbar province plan to sit down with members of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's government tomorrow or Saturday, an Iraqi official said on the condition of anonymity.

Experts are not eager to predict whether the meeting will turn the insurgency around, but they believe the talks are an important step toward ending the violence.

"It's pretty important primarily because they have never accepted to talk before," said Patricia Karam of the United States Institute of Peace. "It is the first time the insurgents have shown an indication that they are willing to negotiate."

The group is to include Sunnis from the insurgent hotbeds of Ramadi and Mosul, said the official who works with Iraq's ruling Shi'ite alliance. He did not think representatives of the Baghdad-based insurgency would be present.

"They are looking for positions, for a piece of the Iraqi cake," the official said of the upcoming talks. "They want to get positions in the government. [The government] will offer some, and it will be fine," he added.

The official said the meeting would be the first with the current government led by Mr. al-Jaafari, but there had been previous talks between insurgent leaders and members of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Cabinet.

The government intends to hold a press conference after this week's gathering, he added. He did not say where the meeting would take place.

The official said the talks were part of a broader two-pronged approach to stopping the bombings and killings that have crippled economic progress in Iraq.

Cities and roads across central and western Iraq, including the capital, have come under repeated insurgent attacks, terrifying the civilian population, stalling significant reconstruction and leaving hundreds of Iraqi security forces dead or maimed.