Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Al-Sadr aides fired for meeting with Americans
Politics
(Reuters) - Two lawmakers from the movement of anti-American Shi'ite Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were dismissed on Wednesday for meeting U.S. officials, an official in the movement said. Abdul Mahdi al-Mtiri, a member of the political committee which took the decision, told Reuters the committee fired former transport minister Salam al-Maliki and member of parliament Qusay Abdul Wahab who met American officials two days ago.
Mtiri said Sadr approved the sackings which were the first public signs of tensions in the movement which holds a quarter of the seats in parliament of the ruling Shi'ite Alliance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "We have fired them for meeting the occupiers. It is against our beliefs to meet the occupiers," he said. Sadr led two uprisings against the Americans in 2004 and has long demanded U.S. forces leave Iraq. But he has backed a seven-week-old security crackdown in Baghdad. U.S. forces have detained or killed hundreds of Sadr's followers in recent months.
Mtiri said Sadr approved the sackings which were the first public signs of tensions in the movement which holds a quarter of the seats in parliament of the ruling Shi'ite Alliance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "We have fired them for meeting the occupiers. It is against our beliefs to meet the occupiers," he said. Sadr led two uprisings against the Americans in 2004 and has long demanded U.S. forces leave Iraq. But he has backed a seven-week-old security crackdown in Baghdad. U.S. forces have detained or killed hundreds of Sadr's followers in recent months.
Labels: Abdul Mahdi al-Mtiri, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Qusay Abdul Wahab, transport minister Salam al-Maliki
