Iraqi parliament speaker calls for government's resignation

Iraqi parliament's speaker Osama al- Nujaifi Monday called for the resignation of the government and holding early elections, Xinhua reported.

"Nujaifi proposed initiatives to end the crisis experienced by the country, including the resignation of the current government," Mohammed al-Khalidi, a parliament member of the Sunni Iraqiya list told reporters here.

The speaker called for the current government to be replaced by a provisional government of independent members who should not participate in the next elections.

He also proposed the electoral commission to prepare for early parliamentary elections and then the current parliament be dissolved, making way for the people to choose their representatives.

The initiatives were aimed to promote national reconciliation and avoid civil war and sectarian strife, Nujaifi's office said.

The call for government's resignation was made following the week-long deadly violence across the country after the April 20 local polls and Tuesday's clashes in Hawijah, some 220 km from capital city of Baghdad.

Clashes erupted last Tuesday between Iraqi security forces and anti- government Sunni protesters in Hawijah, where hundreds of security members backed by helicopters stormed a sit-in by Sunni Arabs.

At least 50 people were killed and more than 150 wounded in the clashes.