Al-Sistani blames Maliki for Iraq crisis

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – On Friday, Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, the representative of Iraqi Shia Spiritual Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said al-Sistani blamed the former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

During Friday prayer in Najaf City in south Iraq, al-Karbalai, who delivers speeches on behalf of al-Sistani, explained the current situation in Iraq. He reiterated al-Sistani’s beliefs that al-Maliki is to blame for the emergence of jihadists in Iraq and the increased corruption in the country.

In his Friday speech, al-Karbalai asked the current Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi to review the policies of the former Iraqi federal government cabinet and avoid repeating the mistakes that al-Maliki made.

Al-Karbalai also touched upon the current liberation of Ramadi, the key city in Anbar Province, by the Iraqi forces. He called on the government in Baghdad to deny those people that supported or assisted jihadists to return to their cities.

On December 29, Iraqi security forces and Shia militia Popular Mobilization Forces (known as Hashd al-Shaabi) freed Ramadi from IS, a city that the jihadists had occupied since May 2015.

Regarding the internally displaced people (IDPs) from Ramadi, al-Karbalai noted, "Bringing home the displaced people should be done according to a mechanism."

After the occupation of Ramadi by IS on May 2015, a vast majority of Ramadi people, over 120,000 individuals were displaced to different places in Iraq where most of them moved to Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq.

"Security forces, together with the residents of these areas and the tribes, should coordinate to ensure that the terrorist gangs cannot return again and form sleeper cells that constitute a danger," he concluded.