ERBIL — Supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric and leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, took to the streets on Monday night to protest against the recent leaked audio recordings of Nouri al-Maliki in which he threatens Sadr.
The angry demonstrators gathered in al-Juma'a street of Nasiriyah, where the Sadrist Movement's supporters usually perform the Friday prayers on a weekly basis, Iraqi reports said.
A number of audio recordings, attributed to Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, have recently circulated on social media, in which he appears to insult Sadr and vows to thwart the cleric's project, noting that the next phase in Iraq would be fighting.
Responding to the comments, Sadr earlier the day urged Maliki to retire from politics and surrender himself to the judiciary. He also revealed that he has been threatened with death by his political rival, accusing him of inciting Shia-Shia fighting.
The Shia cleric wrote on Twitter today that "in my killing, there is joy and honor for Israel, America, the terrorists and the corrupt. But it is all surprising that the threat comes from the Dawa Party, which is affiliated with the Al-Sadr family, and specifically from is al-Maliki."
"I advise him [Maliki] to declare seclusion, retire politics, resort to seek forgiveness or surrender himself with his corrupted collaborators who he protects to the judicial authorities," Sadr added.
Maliki, however, has so far denied the authenticity of the recordings and described the as "fabricated", which were published by the American-based Iraqi journalist Ali Fadhel.