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Iraq MPs reject law on UK troops Iraq MPs reject law on UK troops
(40 minutes later)
Iraq's parliament has rejected a draft law that would allow troops from the UK, Australia and a number of other countries to remain after 2008. Iraq's parliament has rejected a draft law that would have permitted forces from the UK, Australia and a number of other countries to remain after 2008.
The bill would have given these foreign forces a legal basis for staying in Iraq once the current United Nations mandate ends on 31 December. The bill, rejected by 80 votes to 68, would have given the 6,500 non-US troops a legal basis for staying once the UN mandate expires on 31 December.
The draft, rejected by 80-68 votes, now goes back to the cabinet for amendment. It will now be sent back to the cabinet for amendment. A vote is due next week.
US forces are allowed to remain until the end of 2011 under a separate status of forces agreement. The 140,000 US troops are allowed to remain until the end of 2011 under a separate status of forces agreement.
Fariad Rawndouzi, a Kurdish MP, told the BBC that many of his colleagues were not happy with the formulation of the draft law, and wanted it to more closely resemble the deal between the US and Iraq. Fariad Rawndouzi, a Kurdish MP, told the BBC many of his colleagues were not happy with the formulation of the bill, and wanted it to more closely resemble the deal between the US and Iraq.
Earlier in the week, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the UK planned to withdraw its remaining troops from Iraq by the end of July. What the parliament did today, rejecting the bill, was a great national achievement Nasser al-IssawiAl-Sadr Bloc class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/7787630.stm">Iraq pullout is 'met with relief'
A member of the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front, Hussein al-Falluji, echoed the sentiment, saying that relations between Iraq and other states ought to be "arranged, according to international law, through treaties or agreements".
"For this reason parliament rejected this law. It was a big mistake by the government," he told the Reuters news agency.
Nasser al-Issawi, an MP loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, hailed the rejection of the draft as a "great national achievement", and said he hoped the foreign troops would be forced to leave when the UN mandate ends.
The government has so far not commented on the vote. A draft had already been rejected earlier this week, the Associated Press reports.
Earlier in the week, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the UK planned to withdraw its 4,100 remaining troops from southern Iraq by the end of July 2009, as envisaged by the draft law.
Apart from the US and UK, the only countries continuing to provide troops for Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) are Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania and Nato.