Following tape leak, Sadr demands Maliki quit Iraqi politics
The escalating conflict between Muqtada al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki has raised further barriers to the formation of a new government.
Muqtada al-Sadr has demanded that Nouri al-Maliki quit politics following the leak of an audiotape in which Maliki violently threatened Sadr and almost all other Iraqi political parties. Sadr also asked the former prime minister's political allies within the Coordination Framework and Maliki's tribe, Bani Malik, to denounce his statements.
“The threat (of killing me) comes from the Dawa Party, which is affiliated with the Sadr family, and from their leader, Maliki,” Sadr tweeted, referring to the tape in which Maliki threatened to take up arms against him.
“The next stage is fighting, and that Sadr wants blood as he speaks of it, and I told Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi that I do not trust the army and the police, and everyone will defend himself, and I will defend myself while I work for them and we have tanks, armored vehicles and drones,” Maliki said on the tape.
Although Maliki said the tape was fake, it was shared widely and many specialists confirmed its authenticity.
