Iraq's parliament erupted in acrimony at only its second sitting today after lawmakers berated leaders for failing to agree on a new government, two months after historic elections.
When parliamentarians were told that despite last-minute talks that delayed the session no agreement had been reached, even on the post of parliamentary speaker, several stood up to say leading politicians were letting down the Iraqi people.
Hussein al-Sadr, a politician in the bloc led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
As the meeting grew heated, the interim speaker ordered journalists to leave and Iraqi television abruptly switched to Arab music.
"The Iraqi people who defied the security threats and voted - what shall we tell them? What is the reason for this delay?" Hussein al-Sadr, a politician in the bloc led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, asked the assembly before the news blackout.
Mr Allawi walked out of the session shortly afterwards. "You can say we are in a crisis," Barham Salih, a leading Kurdish politician, told reporters.
Ahead of the meeting blasts echoed across central Baghdad and a militant group said in an Internet statement it had fired four mortars into the fortified Green Zone where politicians were meeting. There were no reports of damage.
Two months after more than eight million Iraqis braved suicide bombers and insurgent threats to vote in the January 30th polls, many are increasingly angry that despite intensive haggling no agreement has been reached on forming a government.
The mainly Shi'ite Islamist alliance, which holds just over half the seats, and the Kurdish coalition that came second in the polls have been arguing for weeks on a cabinet line-up.
They have been trying also to involve Sunni Arabs, who dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein but have been left with little representation because most voters in Sunni Arab areas stayed away from the polls due to intimidation and anger. But no deal has been reached, and several government officials say the delay has stalled key projects, deepened chaos and hampered efforts to defeat the mainly Sunni insurgency.
The Shi'ite Islamist alliance that came top in the election and the Kurdish coalition that came second have agreed that the speaker should be a Sunni Arab, part of their efforts to reach out to the minority that dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein but which has been left with little political representation.
Ghazi al-Yawar, a Sunni Arab who is currently Iraq's president, has turned down the post, officials say, and has not been persuaded to change his mind.
Political chaos also dents Washington's plans to increasingly hand over security to Iraqi forces and cut back foreign troops. Officials said parliament would meet again to try to agree a speaker next week, possibly on Sunday.
As politicians focused on horse-trading, insurgents pressed on with their campaign of violence. Three Romanian journalists were kidnapped in Iraq yesterday, officials said.
In Kirkuk, a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol and the convoy of a local official, killing one person and wounding 15.
In Basra, the head of the South Oil company survived an assassination attempt, police said. Insurgents posted video footage on the internet showing them shooting dead three Arab drivers who said they worked for a Jordanian firm that transports goods to US forces.