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Sistani sets deadline to elect new Iraq PM

Baghdad, June 28, 2014

Iraq's top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, raised the pressure yesterday on MPs to agree on a prime minister before the newly elected parliament meets on Tuesday, trying to avert months of wrangling in the face of an insurgent blitz over huge tracts in the country's north and west.

Many of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki's former allies, and even key patron Iran, have begun exploring alternatives to replace him. But Al Maliki, who has governed the country since 2006, has proven over the years to be a savvy and hard-nosed politician.

Maliki insisted that "Baghdad is safe", a statement on his website said. A retired US general, James Conway, echoed those remarks, saying that "the worst is over" as militants will be unable to take Baghdad, the south or Kurdish areas.

The US, meanwhile, started flying armed drones over Baghdad to protect American civilians and newly deployed US military forces in the capital as Iraqi forces fought for a strategic university and launched air strikes in militant-held Tikrit.

In further fallout, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said there was no going back on Kurdish self-rule in disputed territory, including ethnically divided northern oil city Kirkuk, now defended against the militants by Kurdish fighters.

International agencies also raised alarm bells over the humanitarian consequences of the fighting, with up to 10,000 people having fled a northern Christian town in recent days and 1.2 million displaced by the unrest this year.-Reuters




Tags: Deadline | Iraq PM | Sistani |

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