Thursday, August 16, 2007
Sadrists demonstrate in Najaf
Security, Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Hundreds of the Sadrist bloc’s supporters in Najaf staged a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday, calling for an end to arrest campaigns and the release of detainees from the Sadrist bloc, while the spokesman for the bloc said that Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq. “The protesters began the demonstration at 10:00 am on Wednesday from Sahet al-Sadreen (Sadrists' square) in eastern Najaf and ended it at Sahet al-Thawrat al-Eishreen at the eastern exit of the city.
The angry protesters called on the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to release detainees and for the immediate stop to arrest campaigns, which they described as being carried out randomly. “This demonstration aims to call on authorities to stop the recent arrest campaigns by U.S. forces against Sadrists,” the official spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) during the demonstration.
A joint Iraqi and U.S. force last Monday arrested Emad al-Hasnawi, an activist from the Sadrist bloc, from his house in Missan neighborhood in Kufa. U.S. forces also arrested Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi, a senior aide for Muqtada al-Sadr, last Sunday from his house in the neighborhood. “U.S. forces recently launched a new military operation dubbed “Phantom Strike” throughout Iraq, which mainly aims to crack down on Sadrists and elements of the Mahdi Army,” the sheikh also said.
“Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq,” al-Sebani also affirmed. U.S. reports recently asserted that the Shiite cleric is in Iran. “We still adhere to the political process. We withdrew from the government but still have members in the parliament,” he noted. The Sadrist bloc is one of the main components of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and has 30 seats out of the 275-seat parliament.
The angry protesters called on the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to release detainees and for the immediate stop to arrest campaigns, which they described as being carried out randomly. “This demonstration aims to call on authorities to stop the recent arrest campaigns by U.S. forces against Sadrists,” the official spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) during the demonstration.
A joint Iraqi and U.S. force last Monday arrested Emad al-Hasnawi, an activist from the Sadrist bloc, from his house in Missan neighborhood in Kufa. U.S. forces also arrested Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi, a senior aide for Muqtada al-Sadr, last Sunday from his house in the neighborhood. “U.S. forces recently launched a new military operation dubbed “Phantom Strike” throughout Iraq, which mainly aims to crack down on Sadrists and elements of the Mahdi Army,” the sheikh also said.
“Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq,” al-Sebani also affirmed. U.S. reports recently asserted that the Shiite cleric is in Iran. “We still adhere to the political process. We withdrew from the government but still have members in the parliament,” he noted. The Sadrist bloc is one of the main components of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and has 30 seats out of the 275-seat parliament.
Labels: demonstration, Emad al-Hasnawi, Najaf, Sadrist bloc, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shebani, Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi
