Iraqi Shiites Pushing For Al-Maliki’s Removal

BAGHDAD (AP) —
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, center, walks to a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, center, walks to a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Prominent Shiite leaders pushed Thursday for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as parliament prepared to start work next week on putting together a new government, under intense U.S. pressure to rapidly form a united front against an unrelenting Sunni insurgent onslaught.

Increasingly, the Shiite al-Maliki’s former allies believe he cannot lead an inclusive government that can draw minority Sunnis away from support for the fighters who have swept over a large swath of Iraq as they head toward the capital, Baghdad. In a further sign of Iraq’s unraveling along sectarian lines, a bombing on Thursday killed 12 people in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad that houses a well-known  shrine, and police found the bullet-riddled bodies of eight Sunnis south of the capital.

Most crucially, though, backing for al-Maliki is weakening with his most important ally, neighboring Iran.

A senior Iranian general who met with Shiite politicians in Iraq during a 10-day visit this month returned home with a list of potential prime minister candidates for Iran’s leadership to consider, several senior Iraqi Shiite politicians who have knowledge of the general’s meetings told The Associated Press.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants al-Maliki to remain in his post, at least for now, the politicians said, but Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, believes al-Maliki must go or else Iraq will fragment. Khamenei holds final say in all state matters in Iran, but the politicians expressed doubt he would insist on al-Maliki against overwhelming rejection of him by Iraq’s Shiite parties.

The general, Ghasem Soleimani, is expected to return within days to inform Iraqi politicians of Tehran’s favorite, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal deliberations.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, meeting with al-Maliki in Baghdad on Thursday, told a news conference that “we believe the urgent priority must be to form an inclusive government … that can command the support of all Iraqis and work to stop terrorists and their terrible crimes.”

Hague’s trip follows a visit by U.S Secretary of State John Kerry, who earlier this week delivered a similar message.

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