Muqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al-Amiri, the two main supporters of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, agreed Oct. 29 to work on removing him from the office and forming a new government as protests expand across central and southern Iraq.

Sadr is the head of largest parliamentary bloc, Sairoon, and Amiri heads the second largest, Fatah. The alliance between the two blocs brought Abdul Mahdi to the office last year. Now both are distancing themselves from him to protect their political interests and status.

Sadr, who was in Iran since last September, arrived in Iraq on Oct. 29 and in a surprise appearance, joined the protesters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf in a show of support. But the protesters rejected him, shouting, “Muqtada remove your hand, these people don't want you.”

Sadr had sent a message the same day to Abdul Mahdi, asking him to resign. The prime minister replied in an open letter, “You asked me to go to the parliament and announce an early election under the supervision of the United Nations and new electoral commission.” He reminded Sadr that such a plan is not the accepted legal procedure.