BAGHDAD (AP) — Supporters of Iran-backed Shiite groups rallied in Baghdad on Friday to denounce their rivals, followers of an influential Shiite cleric who stormed the parliament last month and have since been holding a sit-in outside the assembly building in the Iraqi capital.
The rivalry between the two sides shows the deep divisions within Iraq’s Shiite community, which makes up about 60% of Iraq’s population of over 40 million people. Unlike Iran-backed groups, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr wants better ties with Arab countries, including Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which is Shiite Iran’s main rival in the region.
Al-Sadr has also been a harsh critic of widespread corruption in the oil-rich country torn by decades of violence, with a crumbing infrastructure, an impoverished majority and lack of basic services.