Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has angrily dismissed US warnings to shun sectarianism in the country's new government by saying Iraqis would not accept interference in their affairs.
Speaking after talks with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who echoed the US call for a government of national unity in Iraq, the normally calm and diplomatic Mr Jaafari said Iraq knew its own best interests.
"When someone asks us whether we want a sectarian government the answer is 'no we do not want a sectarian government' - not because the US ambassador says so or issues a warning," he told a news conference. "We do not need anybody to remind us, thank you."
US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said yesterday the United States was investing billions of dollars in Iraq and did not want to see that money go to support sectarian politics.
Although Arab Sunni participation in the polls raised hopes that peaceful politics could defuse the Sunni insurgency, voting patterns suggested ballots were cast based on sect, not political and economic programmes offered by candidates.
Rising sectarian tension is increasingly evident on streets, where bodies are often dumped with bullet holes to the head.
Sunni accusations that Mr Jaafari's Shia-led government has sanctioned death squads have tarnished the image of postwar Iraq, which was meant to shine as an example of democracy in a region of dictatorships.
Mr Straw reiterated that Britain was working to push democracy forward in Iraq, where the Sunni insurgency of bombings and shootings has killed thousands of security forces and civilians.