Iraq’s Sadr renounces his call for massive protests

• Sadr had called for a “million-man demonstration” in Baghdad on Saturday.
• His opponents, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, want to impose conditions.
• Iraq still lacks a government, a new prime minister, and a new president due to group disagreements over building a coalition.

Iraq’s fiery Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr reversed his earlier call for a big march, as a stalemate with his political opponents appeared to be worsening.

The populist cleric’s pronouncement came amid behind-the-scenes talks aimed at guiding Iraq out of crisis, with the country’s two Shiite Islam factions competing for supremacy.

More than ten months after the elections, Iraq still lacks a government, a new prime minister, and a new president due to group disagreements over building a coalition.

Sadr wants parliament to be dissolved in order to have new legislative elections, while his opponents, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, want to impose conditions and demand a transitional administration before new elections.
The cleric’s coalition won the most seats in parliament in last October’s elections, but it fell far short of a majority.

Sadr, whose supporters have been protesting outside parliament in Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone for over two weeks, had called for a “million-man demonstration” in the capital on Saturday. But on Tuesday he announced on Twitter “the indefinite postponement of Saturday’s protest.”

“If you had been betting on a civil war, I am betting on preserving social peace. The blood of Iraqis is more precious than anything else,” Sadr said.

Late Monday, a team planning rallies in support of the Coordination Framework proposed further events, although no dates were confirmed.

On Friday, the Coordination Framework began their own Baghdad sit-in, sleeping out on an avenue in the city.
Former Hashed Al-Shaabi paramilitaries and the party of former Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a longtime Sadr opponent, make up the Coordination Framework.

So far, the duelling Shiite protests have been peaceful, with mediation efforts ongoing.

Also on Tuesday, current Finance Minister Ali Allawi presented his resignation to the Council of Ministers, according to the INA state news agency.

Iraq has suffered from decades of conflict and widespread corruption.

It is plagued by deteriorating infrastructure, power outages, and collapsing public services, and it is now facing water shortages as drought ravages large swaths of the country.

Despite its oil wealth, many Iraqis are impoverished, with the UN reporting that 35% of young people are unemployed.

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