ISLAMABAD, Aug 03 (Alliance News): Supporters of Iraq’s prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are in control of parliament, with security forces on high alert in the capital Baghdad after opposition groups announced protests outside the chamber.
According to foreign media, the political deadlock that arose in Iraq just 10 months after the elections made Muqtada al-Sadr, a well-known religious leader who supports millions of citizens of the country, in front of another strong group, which is believed to be pro-Iran, after which the two groups have clashed with each other.
Muqtada al-Sadr’s supporters have been occupying parliament since Saturday in the normally high-security Green Zone.
Protesters have started protesting in response to the nomination of the Prime Minister by the opposition alliance.
A large number of security forces have set up roadblocks and checkpoints ahead of the protests, which began around 5:00 p.m. Iraqi local time by supporters of the Coordination Framework, the report said.
Protesters and their supporters commented on social media and wrote that the protests are not being done against any group.
Protests are expected to intensify on the roads leading to the Green Zone, with thousands of supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr still camped out in front of parliament, waving pictures and flags of the president.
A supporter of Muqtada al-Sadr called on the cleric’s activists to participate in simultaneous demonstrations in all Iraqi provinces.
According to the report, the coordination framework also includes lawmakers from the party of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, a longtime opponent of the president, a powerful group that also represents the former pro-Iran paramilitary Hashd al-Shaabi, now formally integrated into the military. Done.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of a faction of the Hashd al-Shaabi, has reiterated his call to find a solution to the conflict through constructive dialogue.
He warned against a climate of tension in the media, with statements calling for mass mobilization and counter-statements raising fears that the protesters could get out of control and lead to violence.
Forming a government in multi-ethnic Iraq has involved complex negotiations since the 2003 US invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein, but a 10-month political deadlock has left the country without a government. It has become difficult to decide whether a new Prime Minister will be elected or a new President will be elected.
The mass gathering of supporters in recent weeks underscores the political power of Muqtada al-Sadr, who once led an armed movement against US and Iraqi government forces, the report said.
