Hundreds of Iraqis rally against US interference in gov't formation

BAGHDAD - Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated near the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad on Wednesday evening, condemning alleged US interference in the country's internal affairs over the formation of a new government.

Protesters gathered near the Suspension Bridge near the entrance of a road leading to the US Embassy, chanting slogans against the United States while demanding the preservation of Iraq's sovereignty.

The rally remained largely peaceful, although some scuffles occurred with security forces preventing demonstrators from approaching the US embassy entrance. No injuries were reported.

"We reject any forms of foreign interference in the Iraqi people's decision to build their future," Abbas Attiwi, one of the protesters, told Xinhua. He specifically criticized US pressure regarding Iraq's formation of a new government, calling it a "blatant intervention" in Iraq's domestic affairs.

The protest was triggered by a sharp escalation in rhetoric between Washington and Baghdad. US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday that the United States would "no longer help Iraq" if former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returns to power, citing concerns over his previous policies and ideologies.

Al-Maliki on Wednesday rebuffed the "blatant US interference" in Iraq's internal affairs, describing it as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, a breach of the democratic system established in Iraq after 2003, and an infringement upon the decision of the Coordination Framework (CF) for selecting its candidate for the premiership.

Iraq's CF, an umbrella alliance of Shiite parties and the largest parliamentary bloc, announced Saturday the official nomination of al-Maliki for a third term to head the country's next government.

Al-Maliki, born in 1950, is the leader of the State of Law Coalition and previously served two terms as Iraq's prime minister from 2006 to 2014.

Under Iraq's post-2003 ethno-sectarian power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Kurd, the speaker's post for a Sunni Muslim, and the prime minister's office for a Shiite Muslim.