Ministers loyal to al-Sadr quit cabinet

CABINET ministers loyal to the radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resigned yesterday to protest the prime minister’s refusal to set a timetable for an American withdrawal.

The resignation raised the prospect that the Mahdi Army militia could return to the streets of Baghdad.

The departure of the six ministers, while unlikely to topple Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government, deals a significant blow to the US-backed leader, who relied on support from the Sadrists to gain office.

Earlier in the day, Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the Sadrist bloc, declared that the ministers would “give the six cabinet seats to the government, with the hope that they will be given to independents who represent the will of the people”.

The White House said al-Sadr’s decision to pull out his ministers does not mean that al-Maliki loses his majority.

“I’d remind you that Iraq’s system of government is a parliamentary democracy and it’s different from our system. So coalitions and those types of parliamentary democracies can come and go,” said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.