Iraqi Shiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant below a portrait of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Baghdad's Sadr City, Iraq, June 18, 2014. On Friday, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, called for a new effective government in Iraq.Khalid Mohammed—AP
Iraq’s top Shi’ite spiritual leader called Friday for a new “effective” government, increasing the pressure on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he tries to beat back an assault by Sunni militants in northern Iraq.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani made the comments at Friday prayers a day after President Barack Obama said he would deploy military advisers and called on Maliki, a Shi‘ite in office since 2006, to create a more inclusive leadership. The Prime Minister’s critics say his favoritism toward Iraq’s Shi’ite majority, long oppressed under Saddam Hussein, has given rise to the renewed insurgency by the Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Al-Sistani’s comments, delivered by a representative in the Shi’ite holy city of Karbala, all but blamed Maliki for the crisis that began last week when militants seized Iraq’s second largest city and much of the north, the Associated Press reports.
“It is necessary for the winning political blocs to start a dialogue that yields an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraq,” said the Grand Ayatollah, who is deeply revered in Iraq. His call to arms last week prompted thousands to volunteer to fight ISIS, a group that split off from al-Qaeda, AP reports.
Al-Maliki’s bloc won parliamentary elections on April 30. The new parliament is supposed to meet by June 30 to pick a new speaker and president; they in turn would ask the leader of the largest bloc to form a new government. But it’s unclear if al-Maliki will be willing to step aside.
On Thursday, Obama said he would deploy up to 300 Green Berets to advise and train Iraqi troops, but he said “only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together.”
Iraqi officials have called for U.S. airstrikes against the militants, but Obama has so far declined.
Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Syria (ISIS) in the city of Ramadi, June 19.ReutersA satellite image shows smoke rising from the Baiji refinery near Tikrit, Iraq, June 18.U.S. Geological Survey/ReutersAl-Qaeda inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Baiji refinery some 155 miles north of Baghdad, June 19.APMehdi Army fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf, June 17.Ahmad Mousa—ReutersNewly-recruited Iraqi volunteers, wearing police forces uniforms, take part in a training session on June 17 in the central Shiite city of Karbala.Mohammed Sawaf—AFP/Getty ImagesPersonnel from the Kurdish security forces detain a man suspected of being a militant belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the outskirts of Kirkuk June 16.Ako Rasheed—ReutersShiite tribal fighters raise their weapons and chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Basra, June 16.Nabil Al-Jurani—APDemonstrators chant pro-al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as they carry al-Qaida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, June 16.APIraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Jurf al-Sakhar June 14.Alaa Al-Marjani—ReutersAn Iraqi security forces member with his weapon takes position as people, who fled from the violence in Mosul, arrive in their vehicles at a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region June 14.Jacob Russell—ReutersPeople hold posters showing Iran's spiritual leaders Ayatollah Khomeini, while Iraqi Shiite fighters deploy with their weapons in Basra, June 14.Nabil Al-Jurani—APShiite men, some of them wearing military fatigues and guns given by the government, raise their weapons as they gather in the Iraqi town of Jdaideh in the Diyala province on June 14, to show their support for the call to arms by Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Ahmad Al- Rubaye—AFP/Getty ImagesMen board military trucks to join the Iraqi army at the main recruiting center in Baghdad on June 14, after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle insurgents.Karim Kadim—APPeshmerga military direct traffic at a Kurdish checkpoint on June 14, in Kalak.Dan Kitwood—Getty ImagesTraffic from Mosul queues at a Kurdish checkpoint on June 14,in Kalak.Dan Kitwood—Getty ImagesIraqi women gather at a temporary camp set up to shelter civilians fleeing violence in northern Nineveh province in Aski Kalak, 25 miles west of Erbil, on June 13.Safin Hamed—AFP/Getty ImagesIraqi children carry water to their tent at a temporary displacement camp set up next to a Kurdish checkpoint on June 13 in Kalak.Dan Kitwood—Getty ImagesA Shiite man cleans weapons as he gets ready to defend his Sadr City district in case of an attack by Sunni extremists, on June 13 in Baghdad.Ahmad Al-Rubaye—AFP/Getty ImagesAn Iraqi soldier bodychecks men as they arrive to volunteer to join the fight against a major offensive by jihadists in northern Iraq on June 13, at a recruiting center in Baghdad.Ali al-Saadi—AFP/Getty ImagesIraqi policemen dig trenches at checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Taji, at the entrance of Baghdad, on June 13, as security forces are bolstering defenses in the capital.Ahmad Al-Rubaye—AFP/Getty ImagesMen chant slogans against the al-Qaida breakaway group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), outside of the main army recruiting center to volunteer for military service in Baghdad on June 12.Karim Kadim—APAn Iraq army vehicle is burned by militants in Mosul on June 12. Onur Coban—Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesRefugees fleeing from Mosul head to the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region in Erbil, north of Baghdad, June 12, 2014. APFamilies fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul arrive at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region June 12.ReutersISIS fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul on June 11. ReutersChildren stand next to a burned-out vehicle during clashes between Iraqi forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on June 10.Reuters
