BAGHDAD: An influential Iraqi cleric is urging his fighters to hand state-issued weapons back to the government following the declaration of victory against Daesh.
Muqtada Al-Sadr also called on his forces to hand some of the territory they control to other branches of Iraq’s security forces, but said his men would remain as protectors of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad. Iraqi powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set conditions for his followers to hand over to the government the weapons they used to fight Islamic State.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over the militant group on Saturday and said “the state should have a monopoly on the use of arms”. In a televised speech, Sadr demanded that his fighters, drawn largely from among the urban poor of Baghdad and southern Iraqi cities, be given jobs or be incorporated into the official armed and security forces.
The World Meteorological Organisation flag. — AFP FileGENEVA: Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and...
This image shows the outside view of the U.S. Senate. — AFP/FileWASHINGTON: Billions of dollars in foreign aid for...
Each year, many African migrants brave the perilous “Eastern Route” across the Red Sea and through war-scarred...
State Department US building can be seen in this picture. — AFP/FileWASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department’s annual...
Former US president Donald Trump. — AFP/FileNEW YORK: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money...
Abortion-rights activists hold a protest on in Phoenix, USA. — AFP/File WASHINGTON: The idea of a doctor in the...