US advises Iraq’s political rivals to avoid violence

ANKARA (AA) – The US Embassy in Baghdad has called on Iraq’s political rivals to abstain from violence amid tension following the nomination of a new prime minister.

In a statement, the embassy said it is “closely monitoring the unrest in Baghdad … (and) concerned by reports of violence.”

It renewed calls for Iraqi parties “to remain calm, abstain from violence, and resolve their political differences through a peaceful process guided by the Iraqi constitution.”

Tension escalated in recent days in Iraq following the nomination of Mohammed al-Sudani to form a new government by a coalition of groups close to Iran amid protests by supporters of influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Iraq has been in a political deadlock for nine months following the country’s general elections la October 2021 which failed since then to agree on a new government between the rival parties.

Iraq is still reeling from the devastating fallout of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq de-seating longstanding dictator Saddam Hussein. The invasion was followed by brutal occupation of the country by the US till 2011. The Iraq Body Count project documents 185,000–208,000 violent civilian deaths through February 2020 during the US invasion of the country. The occupation left the country intensely divided, with rival factions engaged in a power struggle that has caused violence and instability that still plagues the country.