Tens of thousands of Iraqi people attended a mass Friday prayer called for by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad. “Parties that want to form the government must be determined to remove the invaders from the country.”
Answering the call of Moqtada al-Sadr, tens of thousands of Iraqis flocked to the Sadr Square in Baghdad starting from the the morning hours. According to Hakim Zamli, at least one million people attended the mass Friday prayer.
While the Shiite cleric himself did not attend the Friday prayer, his representatives were present.
A message of Moqtada al-Sadr was read out by Mehmud Ceyaş during the Friday prayer: “I do not want further massacres to take place, and the policies to be pursued should prevent further massacres,” the Shiite cleric said.
“If you want the government to be formed, you must be determined to get the invaders out of the country. The first step of the parties that want to form the government should be to combat corruption. All armed groups should be disbanded, Hashd al-Shaabi should be reorganized and be free from foreign interventions,” he stated.
The Shiite cleric also addressed the candidates who want to become the Iraqi prime minister, saying that: “I don't want the previous political figures to come back and the previous disasters to be repeated.”
