Fledgling Sunni Alliance 'might Reduce Iraq Bloodshed'

The emergence of a fledgling political alliance between Sunni insurgents in Iraq could illustrate a big change that might eventually reduce the bloodshed, the Middle East head of a leading defence thinktank said today.

Christopher Pang of the Royal United Services Institute said he was encouraged by the growing signs of a "two-pronged" strategy by armed Sunni groups that are interested in politics.

The institute, which studies issues surrounding defence and security, is the oldest of its kind in the world.

Commenting on today's Guardian interview with the leaders of three Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq, Mr Pang said there appeared to be a growing split between al-Qaida - a Sunni group - and other Sunni insurgent movements.

"We have already recently seen the US military deciding, quite controversially, to give weapons to some Sunni insurgent groups in the belief that they will use them against al-Qaida," he said.

"These Iraqi Sunni groups who have now been talking are coming from much more of a nationalist position than the al-Qaida fighters. What they are saying is that, yes, they are against the foreign occupiers, but they are also against the foreign fighters coming into Iraq as part of al-Qaida."

Mr Pang, the head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the Institute, said: "I think what these Sunni groups are now saying is highly significant. In a way, it is a sign showing the efficacy of the surge of US troops.

"It seems that some of the Sunni groups are on the back heel and questioning how effective the attacks on US forces are ... they are more and more coming round to the importance of being part of some form of political process."

The purpose of the fledgling alliance, which includes all of the main Sunni insurgent groups, apart from al-Qaida and the Ba'athists, is reportedly to create a united front ahead of negotiations with the US before what they hope will be an early pullout.

The leaders of the groups told the Guardian that while they continued to attack the US "occupiers" and their allies, they did not believe in carrying out sectarian attacks on civilians.

The principal group being blamed for the suicide bomb attacks at markets and other Shia areas is al-Qaida.

The Guardian spoke to three Sunni group leaders, all of whom said they were aware of the dangers of sectarian division. Mr Pang said: "This puts some onus on the armed Shia groups to respond in similar, positive ways."

The leaders, who spoke to the Guardian in Damascus, said they wanted support from Arab groups and the UN to create a permanent public political presence outside Iraq.

Mr Pang said it was too early for the UN to make moves to help establish the group. "First of all we need to be sure about the constituency of these groups. What proportion of the Sunni community has their support? The Sunnis in Iraq are very divided."