New push for Iraq reconciliation

Iraq's Shia and Sunni Arabs have both faced sectarian attacks

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has called on former members of Saddam Hussein's army to return - in a move to win over disaffected Sunnis.

He added that those who preferred not to join the new Iraqi army would receive their pensions.

He made the statement at the start of talks between members of both Shia and Sunni moderate groups, aimed at curbing rampant sectarian violence.

The escalating conflict is killing about 100 Iraqis on average every day.

In the latest violence, police said on Saturday that a total of 53 bullet-ridden bodies had been found across Baghdad over the previous 24 hours.

Killings were reported in other areas including Baquba, north of Baghdad, and Iskandariya, south of the capital.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the need for the talks is burningly obvious, with neighbourhoods splitting along sectarian lines.

The 300 delegates invited to attend include exiled members of former leader Saddam Hussein's Baath party. Sunni insurgents and radical Shias are not taking part.

I call on your conference to denounce the policy of sectarian incitement that promotes hatred and violence Nouri Maliki

At the start of the two-day conference, Mr Maliki said: "The Iraqi army opens its doors to officers and soldiers from the former army who wish to serve the country."

Shortly after the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, the US administrator in Iraq dissolved the country's army - a move analysts say drove many soldiers into the Sunni Arab insurgency.

Mr Maliki - a Shia - told delegates that former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party who had no "blood on their hands" should be treated differently from those who did.

"We draw a distinction between the two, so as not to harm the first group and so that the second does not escape justice."

US contact

The prime minister also urged delegates "to denounce the policy of sectarian incitement that promotes hatred".

Politicians from Iraq's Shia and Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties are the main participants of the Baghdad talks.

Discussion were expected to focus on the presence of US-led troops, as well as the impact of Shia and Sunni militias.

The United States has more than 130,000 soldiers in Iraq

The Sunni insurgents have been blamed for bomb attacks targeting Shias and US forces.

Shia militiamen suspected of links to the newly formed armed forces have been accused of operating death squads.

Tens of thousands of people have died in worsening violence.

It is not clear how many serious opponents of the government are attending the conference, our correspondent says.

Past conferences held to curb the violence have had little effect. An Iraqi government official quoted by the Reuters news agency expressed doubt that these talks would be any different.

"Let them talk. More talking will not harm anyone. But I doubt there would be results," the official said.

The White House said Mr Maliki vowed to improve security in a conversation by video link with President Bush beforehand.

According to a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, President Bush and Mr Maliki spoke for 30 minutes on the eve of the conference.