US President George W. Bush stepped in to resolve a row over Iraq's constitution, calling a key Shia leader to warn him not to alienate Sunni Arabs whose resistance to the draft showed no sign of weakening on Friday.
Bush's call to cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a driving force in the Islamist-led coalition, betrayed concern in Washington that a referendum in mid-October could turn into a divisive sectarian showdown rather than the unifying celebration it had hoped would bury the authoritarian past of Saddam Hussein.
Thousands of Saddam supporters and followers of maverick Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took to the streets on Friday in separate demonstrations to protest against provisions in the draft constitution aimed at creating a federal Iraq - a step many fear could lead to the country being divided.
The draft forced into parliament on Monday by Shia and Kurdish leaders to meet a deadline set in a US-sponsored timetable was still being discussed with disgruntled Sunnis on Friday, extending talks originally meant to last three days.
Though much is unclear in the absence of a clear legal framework, there may only be a day or two left to forge a consensus before parliament declares the present draft final, whatever the continuing objections of Sunnis and some Shias.
Iraqi and US officials are adamant that the deadline set in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), drawn up under US occupation last year are already met; it simply says the interim assembly "shall write a permanent constitution".
Sources close to the ruling coalition said Bush urged Hakim to seek an accord with the disaffected Sunnis: "Bush asked him to be more flexible with regard to Sunni demands," they said.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy said: "This is an Iraqi process but the United States is doing everything it can to assist them in meeting their own obligations and deadlines under the Transitional Administrative Law."
Bush made the "brief" call on Thursday, Iraq time, from Idaho where he made a speech aimed at quelling disquiet over the occupation of Iraq, where dozens of Americans die each month.
Bush has been insistent that Iraqis stick to the timetable as a means of quelling insurgency among the Sunnis, all part of an overall plan to reduce US troop numbers in Iraq.
No vote is needed in parliament, although the government has spoken of a "rubber stamp" motion in the National Assembly; Shias and Kurds have a big majority as a result of Saddam's once dominant Sunni minority shunning an election in January.
US diplomats are closely shepherding the process to try to foster a consensus rather than see a bitter referendum campaign which, the government concedes, could end up in rejection if two thirds of voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces say 'No'.
Sunnis have warned of civil war if the constitution goes through as it stands - with provisions for a federal state they fear could see Shia and Kurdish regions hive off oil resources in the north and south.
Parliament speaker Hajim al-Hassani held out some hope of a final agreement in talks on Friday but made clear that without a deal the present draft would simply be presented to a vote.
On Friday, thousands of protesters in Baquba north of Baghdad took to the streets in support of Saddam, who now awaits trial in jail.
Insurgents sabotaged an exporting oil well on Friday, stepping up pressure on the US-backed government facing a relentless Sunni-led insurgency.
In a familiar scene in a country with the third largest oil reserves, flames threatened to halt output from the well, which pumps 7,000 to 10,000 barrels per day toward Turkey.
Some Shias, notably the young and influential cleric Sadr, have joined Sunnis against the charter and deadly clashes on Wednesday night between his Mehdi Army militia and Hakim's pro-government groups fuelled the tensions.
Tens of thousands of Sadr supporters marched in Baghdad and other towns after Friday prayers to denounce the constitution.
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