BAGHDAD, 22 November 2006 — Sectarian tensions that are pushing Iraq to the brink of civil war erupted in Parliament yesterday when two prominent figures from Shiite and Sunni Arab parties traded angry accusations of inciting violence.

In an unusually heated exchange in Parliament shown on live television, Jalal Al-Deen Al-Saghir of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) clashed with outspoken Sunni Arab politician Adnan Al-Dulaimi.

Saghir complained that Shiites living in two mainly Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, Adil and Jamiaa, were enduring violence that was driving them to seek the protection of militias and “opening the door to those who want revenge.”

“What has happened will open the gates of hell,” Saghir said. “People will lose faith in this institution (Parliament) and then there will be no choice but to turn to the militias.”

Attacks on Shiites by Sunni insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and reprisals by both sides have surged since the February bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra. Thousands have fled their homes in neighborhoods where they were the minority sect.

“We all demand militias be disbanded, but where is the serious desire to root out the causes that push people to carry weapons?” Saghir said. “We make speeches, but in practice we find people here in parliament who incite (violence).” Saghir did not identify anyone in the chamber, but his comments sparked an angry reaction from Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Parliament.

“Everything Sheikh Jalal (Saghir) says is not true,” Dulaimi said. “Sheikh Jalal is one of the sources of sectarian strife. He shouldn’t talk like this. This is a conspiracy against us.” A furious Dulaimi said he was treated with disrespect “like Iranians and Jews.”

Earlier, Iraq and Syria agreed to restore full diplomatic relations yesterday after a break of a quarter of a century, a move Iraq hopes may help stem what it says is Syrian support for militants.

Iraqi officials said three people were killed, including a baby, in a US airstrike on a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad during a raid to seize the leader of a kidnap cell suspected of involvement in the abduction of a US soldier.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem signed an accord with Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari in which they agreed US troops should stay in Iraq for now.

Muallem had earlier called for the setting of a timetable for the withdrawal of 140,000 US troops. The document said troops should gradually withdraw once they were not needed.

Iranian and Iraqi officials said Iran has invited Syrian President Bashar Assad for talks in Tehran and, if he visits, he could join a summit between the Iranian and Iraqi presidents. The US military said yesterday’s airstrike came after US and Iraqi troops were fired on during a raid in which they captured seven people, including a man they said led a group linked to the kidnap of US soldier Ahmed Kousay Altaie.

Iraqi security and health officials said three people were killed and at least 15 wounded in the airstrike on Sadr city.

Legislator Saleh Al-Agaili, a member of Sadr’s movement, which provides key support for Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki in Parliament, said he was withdrawing from the assembly in protest. Insurgents killed at least 17 people across Iraq, including 11 in a series of shootings in the restive province of Diyala, security sources said.

Ten people were killed in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, and one outside the city as gunmen carried out a series of attacks on civilians, police said. Four people were killed in the northern city of Mosul. Lt. Col. Mohammed Saleh Al-Juburi of Tall Afar police was shot dead by gunmen as he was traveling in Mosul, a police officer said.

In another development, Iraq and Kuwait hammered out a key deal yesterday that would allow Kuwait to complete the building of a border fence and pay compensation to Iraqi farmers, officials said.

“We have signed a deal ... after which Kuwait will be able to complete the construction of the security fence,” Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah told reporters after talks with his Iraqi counterpart.