Shafaq News- Maysan

A security force raided the home of Maysan Provincial Council Chairman Mustafa Adair al-Muhammadawi on Monday to arrest him under warrants issued by the Karkh Investigation Court in Baghdad, a source familiar with the matter told Shafaq News.

The source added that the force did not find al-Muhammadawi.

Several provincial council members have begun mobilizing to gather at the council building and issue a statement regarding the raid, the source added.

Earlier in the day, al-Muhammadawi told Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi that he intended to surrender to the authorities over the arrest warrant linked to the closure of the Al-Sheeb border crossing with Iran.

Al-Muhammadawi argued that there was no need to dispatch the Maysan Operations Command to arrest him, insisting that he was neither a criminal nor a fugitive from the law, but a representative of the province’s legislative authority.

Al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the council chairman after he threatened to declare civil disobedience, block roads and “separate the province from the body of Iraq” in protest against the continued closure of the crossing.

The Iraqi government ordered the Al-Sheeb crossing closed on October 20 until further notice. Iran’s Interior Ministry expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, saying Tehran had not received prior notification from Baghdad.