Iraq: Sadr Challenges Rivals, Prepares for New Protests

Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr (AP)
Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr (AP)
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Iraq: Sadr Challenges Rivals, Prepares for New Protests

Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr (AP)
Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr (AP)

Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr has continued to challenge his opponents of the Shiite Coordination Framework and former allies in the Sovereignty Alliance and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Sadr has condemned President Barham Salih following reports that he did not sign the law criminalizing normalization with Israel.

Sadr revealed other reasons for his withdrawal from the parliament, aside from what he announced earlier about not wanting to participate with the corrupt.

He held his Shiite opponents from the forces of the Coordination Framework full responsibility for abandoning his plans to form a national majority government.

He blamed his opponents for disapproving the nomination of his cousin, Jaafar, for the position of prime minister, knowing that Jaafar is "the son of their religious reference and their martyr, and they rejected him."

Sadr also attacked the politicians and their blocs who betrayed him without naming them.

Sadr denied his previous statement about withdrawing from the parliament for not wanting to join the corrupt, saying some parties are under the illusion that his decision meant handing Iraq to the corrupt.

He asserted that the decision must submit to the people's will and determination.

Earlier, pictures and banners were hung on several streets and central and southern cities in Baghdad with the phrase "be fully prepared."

Moreover, Sadr's Shiite opponents are still unable to resolve their differences on how to share positions between the Coordination Framework that includes the State of Law Coalition, Fatah Alliance, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Sanad, and Ataa movement.

Sadr justified his participation in the October 2021 elections, saying that "our return to the elections was for two important things: to confront normalization with Israel, which was criminalized, and against obscenity [homosexuality], so let's see what they do."

"Will they enact a new and detailed law, especially with the escalation of Western colonial pressures against those who oppose it?" wondered Sadr.

The Sadrist leader also said he withdrew to see what his opponents would do, especially after they said the elections were rigged.

"Will they continue to form a government from fraudulent elections?"

Meanwhile, political observers fear that the delay in forming the cabinet may justify protests by Sadr supporters and may include an operation to storm the Green Zone, especially after several top Sadrist leaders supported Sadr's steps.

The government formation did not witness any positive progress after Sadr withdrew, and the Coordination Framework became the biggest parliamentary bloc.

The Framework forces disagreed over the positions of prime minister and first deputy speaker, coupled with another disagreement between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union regarding nominating a President.

A parliament dissolution and early elections are possible if the Sadrist demonstrations erupt, which the Tishreen Movement is expected to join.



US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
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US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)

The freezing of US humanitarian assistance has forced the closure of almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens set up to help people left destitute by Sudan's civil war, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Last month, the administration of US President Donald Trump administration abruptly suspended all US aid to determine whether it was “serving US interests,” and moved to begin dismantling the US government's development organization (USAID).

Aid volunteers said the impact of Trump's executive order halting contributions from USAID for 90 days meant more than 1,100 communal kitchens had shut.

The kitchens are run by groups known as emergency response rooms, a grassroots network of activists who stayed on the frontlines to respond to the crises in their neighborhoods.

“People are knocking on the volunteers' doors,” says Duaa Tariq, one of the emergency room organizers. “People are screaming from hunger in the streets.”

Most of the kitchens had closed, she said. Some are trying to get food on credit from local fishermen and farmers, but very soon “we expect to see a lot of people starving.”

It is estimated that nearly two million people struggling to survive have been affected by the US decision.

It is a “huge setback” says Andrea Tracy, a former USAID official who has set up a fund, the Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition, for private donations to the emergency rooms.

The Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition fund will do what it can to plug the gap left by USAID, Tracy said.

The conflict between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and left many facing famine since it erupted in April 2023.

More than 25 million Sudanese are facing high levels of acute food insecurity across the country, according to UN estimates.