Al-Ameri to the Sadrists and CF: Enough blood!!
Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Head of Al-Fateh Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri, called the Shiite Iraqi parties for restraint warning that crowd management may get out of control.
Al-Amiri considered the mass mobilization by the Sadrist Movement and the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) "may get completely out of hand and lead to violence."
" I reiterate my appeal to the brothers in the Sadrist and the Framework to be logical and reasonable, act with wisdom and restraint, put the interests of Iraq and its people first through serious and constructive dialogue, and find solutions to the differences," Al-Ameri said.
The Prominent leader in the Framework added, "Iraqi blood is precious to everyone, and the dear Iraqi people have offered their dear blood from the seventies of the last century."
"Enough blood, and have mercy on the Iraqi blood, which is our responsibility,… we will all be responsible for the Iraqi bloodshedding." He concluded.
The Iraqi street is awaiting what will happen to the situation in the capital, Baghdad, after counter calls from the leader of the Sadrist movement on the one hand and the forces of the Shiite coordination framework, on the other hand, to demonstrate in front of and inside the green walls.
Tensions have worsened since an October election in which al-Sadr's movement emerged as the biggest bloc with 74 of parliament's 329 seats.
After failing to overturn the result in the courts, the Iran-backed factions set about stymying al-Sadr's efforts to form a government that would include his Kurdish and Sunni allies but excludes groups he described as corrupt or loyal to external forces.
Despite their diminished numbers in parliament, the Iran-aligned groups managed to frustrate al-Sadr by denying the two-thirds quorum needed to elect a Kurdish head of state - the first step towards forming a government.
Frustrated at the deadlock, Sadr instructed his lawmakers to quit parliament in June. The move ceded dozens of seats to the Coordination Framework, meaning it could try to form a government of its choosing, though this would risk al-Sadr's wrath.
Al-Sadr's rivals then floated a candidate, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, seen by al-Sadr's supporters as a Maliki loyalist. This step appears to have been the final straw for Sadr supporters, igniting the protests.
In a statement he issued earlier today, al-Sadr, the arch-foe of the Shiite Coordination Framework, instructed his followers to push for a complete overhaul of the political system, including a new constitution, and expel the country's elites whom he condemned as "corrupt."
In response, the Coordination Framework said it will defend "the legitimacy of the Iraqi state" against Muqtada al-Sadr's calls to "overthrow the state and constitution," calling for mass counter-demonstrations today.
