Baghdad, Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government suffered another defection Saturday, and Iraqi politicians and disillusioned citizens joined the debate about whether he should be replaced with a more secular leader.
The sectarian violence that has helped drive Sunni Arabs and even some fellow Shiite factions to boycott al-Maliki’s Cabinet continued to flare Saturday.
A bomb beneath a parked car exploded outside a Shiite shrine in Baghdad, killing seven people as pilgrims began walking to Karbala for the birthday Tuesday of the “hidden imam,” Muhammad al-Mahdi. Shiites believe he disappeared in the 9th century and that his return will herald peace and justice.
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a report last week that al-Maliki was unable to govern effectively and that Iraq’s politics were likely to get even more precarious in the near future.
Infighting and sectarian power struggles have prompted all Sunni and independent factions to pull out of the so-called national unity government. Led by former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the bloc had ceased attending Cabinet meetings this month and announced Saturday that it was formally abandoning its posts.
