Shi'ite officials press Maliki to tackle militias

Nouri al-Maliki, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Moqtada al-Sadr,
Harith al-Dhari and Massoud Barzani

BAGHDAD, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Senior members of Iraq's Shi'ite Alliance are pressing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to go after the Shi'ite militia loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr if he wants to save his government from collapse, Alliance sources say.

In a significant admission that forces linked to one of their own allies behind much of the violence in Baghdad, the sources said Sadr's Mehdi Army was a serious threat to the government and the Alliance risks losing everything.

"There are efforts to convince Moqtada's group to stop their actions. The state has limited patience with these actions, it cannot be patient for ever," said Sami al-Askari, a member of parliament for the Shi'ite Alliance.

Majority Shi'ites, long oppressed under Saddam Hussein, came to power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. They now form the largest bloc in parliament and are the main force in a unity government that also includes Kurds and Sunni Arabs.

An Alliance delegation went to the holy city of Najaf on Thursday to seek a meeting with Sadr and other religious leaders, one of the team said, without giving further details.

Read the rest at Reuters

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