Baghdad Braces for Potential Clashes between Sardrists, Rivals

A security forces member in Baghdad. (AFP)
A security forces member in Baghdad. (AFP)
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Baghdad Braces for Potential Clashes between Sardrists, Rivals

A security forces member in Baghdad. (AFP)
A security forces member in Baghdad. (AFP)

Baghdad is bracing itself for possible escalation between the Sadrists, of influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the pro-Iran Coordination Framework.

Sources from the behind the political scenes have spoken of intense efforts between the Sadrists and forces of the October 2019 protests to pave the way for a new wave of demonstrations to mark the third anniversary of the rallies next month.

The security authorities have only compounded fears in the capital after setting up a giant gate on the Joumhouria bridge that connects the Tahrir square to the Green Zone.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi soon called for its removal.

Security forces were on alert on Tuesday night. They deployed forces across the capital and blocked roads, which forced many people out of their homes until the morning hours.

Politically, the Framework is insisting on its positions that they know are opposed by Sadr.

They are determined to go ahead with the nomination of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister, a position that had inflamed tensions in July.

On Monday, the Framework declared that Sudani remains their candidate and on Tuesday, Framework MPs met with him at parliament.

Sadrist officials, meanwhile, have stressed that the Framework, and the parliament, will not be allowed to hold a parliamentary session to elect a president, who may task Sudani with forming a new government.



Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye “does not have any secret agenda” in Syria and wants to construct a “new culture of cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.

One of Türkiye’s priorities in the upcoming year is to clear the region of terrorism, Fidan said, referring to Kurdish militants based in northeast Syria. “The extensions of the separatist group in Syria are now facing destruction and the old order is no longer going to continue,” he told a news conference in Istanbul.

Fidan also criticized the United States’ support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as the US seeks to prevent a revival of the ISIS group.

“This kills the spirit of alliance and solidarity,” Fidan said. He said Türkiye is “not going to shy away from taking the necessary steps” in terms of military action.

Türkiye views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by Türkiye and other states.

Referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments that US troops should stay in Syria, Fidan dismissed the views of the outgoing US administration. “This is the problem of the new government and the old government does not have a say in this,” he said.

The SDF is currently involved in fighting the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

Fidan also backed suggestions for Syrian Kurds to join a new national military but said all non-Syrians fighting for the SDF — a reference to those with ties to the PKK — should leave the country.