Al-Dhari calls for UN, Arab nations to withdraw support of Iraqi government

CAIRO, Egypt -- A prominent Sunni religious leader accused in Baghdad of inciting terrorism warned Saturday that Iraq's escalating sectarian violence will spread throughout the Middle East unless the international community ends support for the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

"I call on the Arab states and the Arab League and the United Nations to stop this government and withdraw its support from it. Otherwise, the disaster will occur and the turmoil will happen in Iraq and other countries," said Sheik Harith al-Dhari, who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for al-Dhari earlier this month, accusing him of inciting terrorism and sectarian violence. The Sunni leader, who lives in Jordan and was in Cairo to meet with Arab officials, said he does not "take this warrant seriously."

Al-Dhari's comments came as Iraq is being wracked by an upsurge in sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites, including a bombing onslaught Thursday that killed 215 people in Baghdad's biggest Shiite neighborhood.

Sunnis charge Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not serious about disbanding Shiite militias accused of sectarian killings. Sunni groups and politicians recently said the warrant for al-Dhari put an end to the national reconciliation program presented by al-Maliki in June.

Al-Dhari, who is an outspoken critic of al-Maliki's government and the presence of U.S.-led foreign troops, charged that the Shiite-dominated administration is using a curfew declared in Baghdad after the bombings as a way to carry out attacks on Sunnis.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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