IRAQ: Thousands of Shiite cleric Moqtda al-Sadr's supporters take to the streets for "injustice day" rally as a show of strength

Record ID: 213925

  • Title: IRAQ: Thousands of Shiite cleric Moqtda al-Sadr's supporters take to the streets for "injustice day" rally as a show of strength
  • Date: 16th March 2013
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS TAKING PART IN RALLY
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3A0ZM5PM3U5U6ESD9CQ1TG48X
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of supporters of the powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rallied on Saturday (March 16) in Kut city in a show of force against sectarianism and injustice.
    Protesters in the western province of Anbar and a number of Sunni-populated areas are demanding Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki quit over what they see as the marginalisation of their minority sect and misuse of terrorism laws to target Sunnis.
    Sadr has voiced support for the protests in Anbar province and elsewhere against Maliki's shi'ite-led government as long as they drop sectarian slogans and stop glorifying Saddam's Baath Party.
    Carrying Iraqi flags and chanting "No, No to America", protesters from across Iraq gathered in Kut city, 150 km (93 miles) south of the capital Baghdad.
    Addressing demonstrators via a TV screen, Sadr called on the crowd to resist and fight sectarianism.
    The country's precarious sectarian balance has come under growing strain as Iraqi Sunnis vent frustrations that have built up since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 overthrew Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites through the ballot box.
    Sadr, whose Medhi Army militia once fought against U.S. troops in the years following the 2003 invasion, is a powerful member of Maliki's coalition and he controls 39 seats in the 325-member parliament made up of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs.
    Violence has intensified with the swell of Sunni opposition to Maliki, whose power-sharing government has been all but paralysed since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011.
    Al Qaeda is thought to be regrouping in the caves and valleys of Anbar and has called on Sunni protesters to take up arms against the Maliki government.
    ENDS
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