Friday, June 29, 2007
Al-Sadr delays Samarra shrine march
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric, has postponed his followers' march toward a bombed Shia shrine north of Baghdad. "Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to postpone the march to Samarra for several reasons, including the government's inability to secure the route and many officials' appeals for a postponement," Sheikh Asad Al-Nassiri, an aide to the cleric, said on Friday. He made the announcement during a Friday sermon in nearby Kufa.
Earlier on Friday, the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament called on al-Sadr to cancel the march, saying it was too dangerous. Al-Sadr had called for his followers to march to the Askariya shrine in Samarra known for its shimmering golden dome destroyed by suspected al-Qaeda bombers in February 2006.
After a second attack toppled the mosque complex's minarets earlier this month, the cleric called for Shias to march to the shrine on July 5. The statement by the Sunni bloc, which holds 44 seats in the 275-member legislature, came a day after the Iraqi cabinet and the defence ministry both made similar pleas, saying the road to the mosque was not yet secure.
"We call on our Shia brothers and those in the al-Sadr movement to postpone their planned visit in July to the Askariya shrine, which was the target of two terrorist criminal attacks that aimed to divide Iraqis," the statement said.
Earlier on Friday, the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament called on al-Sadr to cancel the march, saying it was too dangerous. Al-Sadr had called for his followers to march to the Askariya shrine in Samarra known for its shimmering golden dome destroyed by suspected al-Qaeda bombers in February 2006.
After a second attack toppled the mosque complex's minarets earlier this month, the cleric called for Shias to march to the shrine on July 5. The statement by the Sunni bloc, which holds 44 seats in the 275-member legislature, came a day after the Iraqi cabinet and the defence ministry both made similar pleas, saying the road to the mosque was not yet secure.
"We call on our Shia brothers and those in the al-Sadr movement to postpone their planned visit in July to the Askariya shrine, which was the target of two terrorist criminal attacks that aimed to divide Iraqis," the statement said.
Labels: Askariya shrine, Iraqi Accordance Front, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Samarra, Sheikh Asad Al-Nassiri
