Sadr: No Room for Militias in Iraq Anymore

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attends a news conference in Najaf, Iraq, November 18, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attends a news conference in Najaf, Iraq, November 18, 2021. (Reuters)
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Sadr: No Room for Militias in Iraq Anymore

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attends a news conference in Najaf, Iraq, November 18, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attends a news conference in Najaf, Iraq, November 18, 2021. (Reuters)

On the eve of the new Iraqi parliament holding its inaugural meeting, head of the Sadrist movement, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr slammed pro-Iran militias, saying there was no room left for them in the country.

In a tweet, he said: "There is no room for sectarianism or racism. There is only room for a national majoritarian government in which the Shiite will defend the rights of the minority Sunnis and Kurds."

"The Kurd will defend the rights of the minority Sunnis and Shiites and the Sunni will defend the rights of the minority Shiites and Kurds," he stressed.

Moreover, he revealed that his movement has reached an agreement with the Sunni and Kurdish forces to form the largest bloc in parliament that will allow it to form a new government at the expense of his rival fellow Shiite forces in the "Coordination Framework."

"There is no room anymore for militias, as everyone will support the army, police and security forces," Sadr announced.

"Along with the people, today we declare that we say no to subjugation," he stated. "Our decision is Iraqi, Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Turkmen, Christian, Feyli, Shabak, Yazidi and Sabian: This is an Iraqi mosaic that is neither eastern, nor western."

On Friday, Sadr had declared that he will go ahead to form a national majoritarian government that includes representatives of Sunni Arabs - from the Taqadum party and Azm alliance - and Kurds, represented by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Masoud Barzani.



UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

The UN rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.

"UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.

He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by UN human rights monitors.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.