Iraq’s Sadr ends sit-in after PM proposes new ministers
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end a two-week sit-in on Thursday after the country's premier proposed new ministers for a technocratic cabinet that he had demanded. The sit-in at entrances to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to Iraq's main government institutions and foreign embassies, was aimed at pressuring authorities to carry […]Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end a two-week sit-in on Thursday after the country's premier proposed new ministers for a technocratic cabinet that he had demanded.
The sit-in at entrances to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to Iraq's main government institutions and foreign embassies, was aimed at pressuring authorities to carry out reforms.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had himself repeatedly called for the current cabinet of party-affiliated ministers to be replaced with technocrats, but has faced resistance from powerful blocs and their ministers, who rely on ministries for patronage and financial gain.
The end of the sit-in and the proposal of the new ministerial candidates, who will now be considered by parliament, eases political tensions that have been running high for weeks.
