Sadrist delegation in Mosul to defuse crisis

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: A Sadrist bloc delegation led by lawmaker Bahaa al-Aaraji arrived in the city of Mosul to offer mediation in a bid to defuse the pending crisis within the local council, a local media source said. “The five-member delegation is offering mediation in a bid to solve outstanding crisis between al-Hadbaa National List and the Fraternal Ninewa List within the provincial council,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The delegation met with Ninewa Governor Atheel al-Nejefi to discuss ways to solve the crisis and then will head for the provincial council to meet with members of al-Hadbaa List,” he added. An official spokesman for the Fraternal Ninewa List had said last week that the initiative has begun with discussions between legislators from the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) and the Sadrist bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. The Fraternal Ninewa List, led by Kurds and has 12 out of a total 37 seats of the provincial council, had boycotted the panel’s sessions in protest of “predominance by al-Hadbaa over all administrative and key positions in the province”. AmR (P) 1