Sunni religious leaders warned on Sunday that using militiamen to help restore security to Iraq would be "to ignore a large section of Muslims and push them into the ranks of the opposition."
A statement issued by the Committee of Muslim Ulema in Iraq, a body set up after Saddam's overthrow in April, said it would be "an attempt to break up Iraq," recalling the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990 when rival militias battled for control.
"This is a way to divide and rule by exploiting confessionalism and racism," the Sunni clerics said.
Iraq's US-installed interim Governing Council is reportedly divided over the militia question.
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