Firebrand Cleric Calls For Anti-corruption Protest At Iraq Pilgrimage

Baghdad, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2019 ) :Firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr on Tuesday urged millions of worshippers taking part in largest pilgrimage to protest against corruption in Iraq, following deadly demonstrations.

Sadr, a politician whose list won the 2018 legislative elections, helped Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi form his government later that year.

But as the death toll rose in protests that rocked Iraq earlier this month, Sadr called on Adel Mahdi to resign and threatened to mobilise his supporters.

The official count puts the number of dead at 110, the vast majority protestors killed by live fire during the demonstrations against chronic corruption and unemployment.

On Twitter, Sadr called Tuesday evening for "Iraqis on the move" toward Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage "to mobilise by the millions".

"March draped in your shrouds... and chant on Arbaeen: No to America! No to Israel! No to the corrupt!" Sadr wrote.

The commemoration marks the end of a period of mourning for Imam Hussein, a founding figure in Shiite islam.