BAGHDAD, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The political movement of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said it would end a two-month boycott of parliament on Sunday. The Sadrists are key allies of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki but announced a boycott late last year to press their demand for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. They held a joint news conference with members of the Shi'ite Alliance, to which the group belongs, to announce their return to parliament.
Children stand in the compound of a relative's residence, at which they are now staying after their families left their homes in Baghdad for Arbil, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad, January 19, 2007. Tens of thousands of people have fled Baghdad, the epicentre of violence in Iraq. The United Nations, launching an appeal for aid for Iraqis who have fled their homes or left the country, said this month about one in eight Iraqis is now displaced. Many, including non-Kurds, have taken refuge in Kurdistan -- a largely autonomous region in the northern mountains that has been a haven from attacks plaguing other areas since the U.S. invasion of 2003. Picture taken January 19, 2007. To match feature MIGRATION-IRAQ/ARBIL.
