Al-Sadr: The Sadrist movement and the Asa'ib are brothers 

Shafaq News / The Leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, commented today on the recent events that occurred in Maysan governorate. 

"Our brothers in the movement and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq must be calm", he said, "Will politics split us? of course not!"

He continued, " Even though there are political disagreements between us, You (The Asa'ib) are our brothers."

For his part, Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the Asa'ib, said on February 3, that al-Sadr must clear himself from the blood of chief officer Houssam al-Alewi. 

Al-Khazali accused Houssam al-Alewi's killer of also killing his brothers Wissam and Issam al-Alewi, adding, "those criminals pretend to be members of Saraya al-Salam brigades that definitely has nothing to do with them."

He also stressed the need to hold the criminals accountable for what they did. 

Earlier today, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi arrived in Maysan today, accompanied by the ministers of defense and interior, and the heads of security agencies. 

Upon his arrival to Amara, Maysan's capital city, the Prime Minister will hold an expanded meeting with the commanders in charge of the southern governorate's security," a source told Shafaq News agency earlier today, "he will also meet the bereaved family of Judge Ahmed Faisal."

Al-Kadhimi's visit comes in the aftermath of Judge Faisal's killing on Saturday evening in the area infamously known as a trafficking hub. 

The magistrate specialized in narcotics-related cases was heading home in Amara when a group of unknown assailants blocked his route and sprayed his vehicle with bullets. 

In September, another anti-drug judge survived an assassination attempt in the same governorate.

Observers cite an apparently growing sense of lawlessness in Maysan. Local officials blame what they describe as successive weak governments, egregiously mishandled security, porous borders, and a lack of cooperation between government agencies as the main reasons behind many of unlawful manifestations in Maysan. 

It is not only at the heart of the country’s thriving drug scene, but it is also the battlefield of armed tribal conflicts, where confrontations can last for days with the security forces unable to deter the bloodshed.

In a recent dispute between two major tribes, Katyusha rockets were used, injuring unconfirmed scores of people.