ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday urged all domestic sides, including the government and militia groups, to avoid getting Iraq entangled in the Syrian fighting as the neighboring country has been shaken by an Islamist-led rebel offensive launched last week.
Sadr stressed in a post on social media platform X the “necessity of Iraq’s government, people, parties, militias, and security forces not getting involved in the Syrian issue.”
The Shiite leader and cleric urged the Iraqi government to take strict measures to “punish anyone who tries to destabilize local security and interfere in Syrian affairs.”
He went on to say that Iraq has "nothing to offer [Syria] except prayers, and we still maintain our position of non-interference in Syrian affairs.”
Islamist-led rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and allied factions launched a lightning offensive last week. Since then, they have seized the major cities of Aleppo and Hama, after days of intense clashes with the Syrian army and allied forces.
The Shiite cleric's comments come as foreign ministers of Iraq, Syria, and Iran are scheduled to meet in Baghdad on Friday to discuss the Syrian crisis.
Since the rapid military changes occurred on the ground in Syria, Iraqi officials have repeatedly voiced concern over the escalations and their repercussions on Iraq.
Fearing the conflict’s spillover, Iraq has fortified its borders with Syria, deploying troops and heavy weapons.
In a private parliament session on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stated that Iraq would not “stand by and watch” what has been happening in Syria. He, however, made clear that they did not want to drag Iraq into a war that would compromise the political process in the country and “take 45 million [people] into the unknown.”
Iraq’s Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, for his part, on Wednesday claimed that the rise of anti-government armed groups in Syria was a “foreign-backed” plot aimed at toppling Syria as a sovereign state, not only the government.
Abu Mohammed al-Julani, commander-in-chief of the HTS, on Thursday, responded to concerns expressed by Iraq's leadership, urging PM Sudani to not get involved in the conflict in Syria, stressing that they seek strategic ties with Baghdad.
"There are a lot of concerns and delusions among Iraqi politicians that what is happening in Syria will spill into Iraq. I say, decisively, that this is 100 percent false," said the HTS chief.
“Just as Iraq and Mr. Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani succeeded in evading the war between Iran and the region in recent times, we would appreciate it if he also manages to keep Iraq out of a new war with what is happening in Syria,” he added.
The recent upsurge in violence in Syria has so far claimed the lives of over 700 people, according to a war monitor.
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