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Sunnis, Kurds court Sadr as new Iraqi government takes shape

As negotiations to form Iraq's next government kick into high gear, Sunni and Kurdish leaders are streaming to the house of triumphant Muqtada al-Sadr.

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Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr meets with ambassadors from Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Kuwait in Najaf, Iraq, May 18, 2018. — REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

The main negotiations between Sairoon Alliance leader Muqtada al-Sadr and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi produced “near complete alignment to form a strong technocratic government,” according to Abadi in his weekly conference May 22. In the wake of these negotiations, Sunni and Kurdish delegations flocked to meet with Sadr to join the next government.

Sadr welcomed former speaker and head of the Al-Qarar Alliance Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad the same day. Sadr’s political bureau said in a statement that the meeting was part of the negotiations and efforts “to form an inclusive national government.”

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