ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr warned Wednesday that militant groups’ interference in political affairs in Iraq would further destabilize the country and expand sectarian tensions.
Speaking to Al-Nahar newspaper, the leader of the Sadrist Movement said the escalation of religious conflict between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq was the result of the “authoritarian rule” of former Iraqi governments.
“Former governments are accountable for the escalation of violence in Iraq. The authoritarian treatment of Nouri al-Maliki with other groups was an especially key reason,” Sadr said referring to Maliki, the former Iraqi prime minister, who was in office between 2006 and 2014. Maliki was removed last year in the wake of the ISIS seizure of Mosul.
Sadr also warned that the Hashd al-Shaabi Shiite militias, groups widely supported by Baghdad and neighboring Iran, should not take political stances in Iraqi state or political affairs.
“Hashd al-Shaabi operates under Shiite Marja (authority) and should not intervene in Iraq’s political matters,” Sadr, who has close ties with Tehran and resides in the Iranian religious city of Qom, said.
Sadr has been an influential leader among Iraqi Shiites since 2004. His militant group, called the Mahdi Army, fought US forces between 2004 and 2008.
“Whenever US forces return to Iraq, the Mahdi Army will rise again and oppose the Americans,” he warned.
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