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Top Shiite Cleric in Iraq Urges Inclusive Government Iraq’s Hold on Border Crossings Weakening as at Least 34 Are Killed in Battle
(about 9 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a statement on Friday calling on Iraq’s diverse political parties to move quickly to form a government. He also again clarified that his call for volunteers to defend Iraq against extremist jihadis was not meant as a call to arms for Shiites, but for all Iraqis. BAGHDAD — Sunni militants overran one of the last government-held crossings on the Syrian border on Friday after a fierce battle that left at least 34 Iraqi soldiers dead.
The statement, issued at Friday Prayer in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, was conveyed by Ahmed al-Safi, a leading Shiite cleric and the Sistani representative there. The fighting occurred as some clerics during Friday Prayer signaled that they wanted the Parliament to hasten the formation of a new government and reach across sectarian and ethnic divides.
Mr. Safi said that all political blocs should stick to the timing required in the Constitution to convene a new Parliament by July 2. In the past, government formations have often taken much longer. “The winning bloc should hold dialogue in order to form an effective government that enjoys wide national acceptance to correct the past mistakes and open new horizons for Iraqis for a better future,” Mr. Safi said. Police and government officials reached in Qaim, the western border city of about 250,000 near the crossing, described a desperate, bloody struggle in which Iraqi Army troops were overwhelmed by “hundreds” of fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Fighters coming from Syria have been able to cross the desert freely for some time, but control of border crossings allows easier transport of fighters — including suicide bombers — and supplies, vehicles and heavy equipment.
The statement echoed the language used by opponents of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, calling for him to form a government that is accepted by Sunnis and Kurds. It was interpreted by some as an implicit criticism of Mr. Maliki’s government, but was no more strongly worded than previous statements from Ayatollah Sistani’s representatives. “We would have stood and kept on fighting ISIS, but the government didn’t send us backup, and we were few in number and they had more fighters,” said Qaim’s mayor, Farhan al Qubaisi, who described a scene of heroic but ultimately futile resistance as the Iraqi soldiers were overrun. Still, a small part of the city and border crossing remained under government control late Friday, according to local officials and a Western military expert.
Only the day before, President Obama called for Iraqis to form an inclusive government, and suggested, indirectly, that Mr. Maliki might not be the best person to do that. While Mr. Maliki was the biggest vote-getter in the April 30 elections, his 92 seats in Parliament fall far short of the 165-seat majority needed for him to claim a third term as prime minister, although the next largest vote-getter controls only 33 seats. “The 34 soldiers who were killed were real heroes; they were facing hundreds of ISIS,” Mr. Qubaisi said, adding that among the dead was the commander of the brigade in charge of Qaim, Col. Majid Al Fedawi.
Many of Mr. Maliki’s political opponents, including some former allies, have called on him to step aside in favor of a candidate who could gain more support from all factions, and some have said that American diplomats have begun urging a replacement for Mr. Maliki as well. There are at least three main crossings along the long, serpentine border with Syria, and the Kurdish pesh merga forces took control of the northernmost one a few days ago.
Islamic insurgents have swept through much of northern Iraq in the past eight days, aided in large part by disaffected Sunnis in territory they took over. The next closest crossing to Qaim, which is named Al Waleed, remained in government hands on Friday evening, but a police officer stationed in Qaim and other government officials there said that only a small police force was deployed at Al Waleed and that it was unlikely to hold the crossing for long.
Mr. Safi again clarified that Mr. Sistani’s call last Friday for volunteers to defend the government was not a sectarian appeal for Shiites to join militias, as it has been widely interpreted. The police officer said the ISIS fighters had taken over most of the government buildings in Qaim and freed prisoners being held in the police station.
“The invitation was for all Iraqis not for one sect and the goal was to be ready and prepared to face the Takfiri group which is called ISIS, which now has the upper hand and the strongest situation in several provinces,” he said, using a disparaging term that means apostate. “Those who were still here from the army have left the battle,” added the officer, who asked for anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to reporters.
The militants, he said, “were in SUVs and pickups carrying heavy weapons.”
In Salahuddin Province, which the militants entered last week, government officials were still fighting to hold the crucial Baiji refinery, which the militants occupied briefly on Wednesday. On Friday, the government forces led by Brig. Gen. Arras Abdul Qadir were inside the refinery, and the militants were besieging it from within the compound but still some distance away.
“I lost many of my soldiers,” General Qadir said in a telephone interview. “I had many killed and wounded.”
“The only way to stay connected with forces outside is by air support,” he said, adding that the government had dropped food, ammunition and some additional troops on Friday, in expectation of fresh assaults by ISIS.
“We are ready, we are prepared, we expect them any minute,” he said on Friday night.
Also on Friday, Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a statement through a spokesman calling on Iraq’s diverse political parties to move quickly to form a new government. He also again clarified that his call for volunteers to defend Iraq against extremist jihadis was not meant as a call to arms for Shiites, but for all Iraqis.
Ahmed al-Safi, a leading Shiite cleric and Sistani representative in Karbala, gave the message at Friday Prayer.
Mr. Safi said that all political blocs should stick to the time frame in the Constitution for convening a new Parliament, by July 2, and naming a speaker, the first step in forming a new government. If each step occurred on schedule, a new government could be in place by mid-August, but it could also be accelerated. In the past, the process often took much longer. The most important thing, according to the senior Shiite clerics, is that the new government be inclusive.
“The winning bloc should hold dialogue in order to form an effective government that enjoys wide national acceptance to correct the past mistakes and open new horizons for Iraqis for a better future,” Mr. Safi said.
The statement was interpreted by some as criticism of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, but was no more strongly worded than a number of previous statements from Mr. Sistani’s spokesmen.
On Thursday, President Obama called for Iraqis to form an inclusive government and suggested, indirectly, that Mr. Maliki might not be the best person to do that.
While Mr. Maliki’s party was the biggest vote-getter in the April 30 elections, his 92 seats in Parliament fell far short of the 165 needed for the majority for him to claim a third term as prime minister, although the next largest vote-getter controls only 33 seats.