Iraq's top Shia cleric condemns killings, kidnappings of protesters

Demonstrators gathering outside the governor’s office in support of the Iraq protests in Kirkuk, Iraq on 6 December 2019. [Ali Mukarrem Garip – Anadolu Agency]

Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday condemned recent killings and kidnappings of protesters, urging the state to assert control over the widespread use of weapons, Reuters reports.

He also called on the armed forces to remain professional, loyal to the state and free from foreign influence, a representative of Sistani said during a sermon on Friday in the holy city of Kerbala.

Armed forces “must be loyal to the nation, and free from foreign interference,” he said.

READ: The trio ruling Iran

Iraq has been rocked anti-government protests for more than two months. More than 440 people have been killed since Oct. 1, according to a Reuters tally.

Sistani, who rarely weighs in on politics except in times of crisis, holds massive influence over public opinion in Shi’ite majority Iraq.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he would resign last month after Sistani withdrew his support for the government.

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.