SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Sadrist movement on Thursday in a statement demanded Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi remove the current Chairman of Iran-backed popular mobilization forces (PMF).
Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, a proxy to powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in a statement demanded that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi should remove Falih al-Fayadh, the chairman of Iran-backed PMF.
Fayadh is a political figure and he is a head of an Iranian backed-faction, Fayadh has no military experience, has no strong personal character, therefore al-Iraqi demanded his resignation, according to the statement.
Al-Iraqi also asked Prime Minister Kadhimi to push the PMF forces out of Baghdad’s Green Zone and lift the checkpoints, his demands coincided with a new mount of armed clashes between the rival Shiite groups.
Earlier on Thursday despite the bloody armed conflict that took place in the Iraqi capital early this week, another intra-Shiite armed clash hit the oil-rich city of Basra between Sadr’s affiliated armed group, Saraya al-Salam, and Iran-back Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq.
Baghdad’s violence resulted in the killing of 23 people, while in Basra four were reported dead, among whom a commander of Sadr’s militants was killed.
Following Thursday’s clashes, the Iran-backed Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement shut down all of its offices and headquarters across Iraq after it mounted an armed clash with the military wing of the Sadrist movement.