Iraq's leading Sunni Muslim religious organisation blamed top Shia clerics today for fuelling sectarian tension that has killed dozens of Sunnis over the past 24 hours.
An Iraqi demonstrator flashes a
"The Muslim Clerics Association points the finger of blame at certain Shia religious authorities for calling for demonstrations," said a spokesman.
The comments appeared aimed at Iraq's top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who called for protests yesterday over an attack on a Shia shrine in the city of Samarra. Ayatollah Sistani also called for restraint and said mosques should not be attacked.
Dozens of people, mostly minority Sunnis, were killed in Baghdad and elsewhere after the bombing of a major Shia shrine in Samarra, police said.
Dozens of Sunni mosques were also attacked yesterday and Shia militias took to the streets.
The Muslim Clerics Association appealed to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to calm his supporters, who have been seen roaming in the streets and appeared to have been at the forefront of the violence.
"From here, I call on Moqtada al-Sadr to interfere because some matters are linked to his group," a spokesman said in a news conference. "I remind Moqtada al-Sadr . . . that our blood was mixed in Falluja, Sadr City, Kerbala and Najaf."
Mr al-Sadr is well-respected by Sunni leaders for his anti-US stance and has clashed with US forces in the Shia shrine city of Najaf and the sprawling Shia slum of Sadr City in Baghdad. He has also spoken out against the US military presence in Iraq and its assault on Sunni areas.