An Iraqi General joins the Sadrist demonstrators

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Defense Mobilization Forces commander, Brig. Gen. Abdel Nasser Salman Al-Aqabi announced that he had joined the sit-in of the Sadrist Movement in the parliament building.

The Defense Mobilization Forces, affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, include Shiite fighters but are not under the command of the Popular Mobilization Authority.

These military forces support the Iraqi forces in combating ISIS remnants and protecting some areas.

Addressing the Defense Mobilization Forces (Hashd Al-Difaa) and the Iraqis, Al-Aqabi said, "You were and are at the highest levels of discipline and respect; now, it is the time to take our rights from the corrupters."

"Being one of the sons of the martyr Muhammad (Sadiq) al-Sadr, I have to participate in the demonstrations with our brothers, the sons of Muhammad al-Sadr." The Brigadier said.

"No one has been fair with us after nine years...we have worked on the battlefronts without rights and salaries, despite our martyrs and wounded."

Al-Uqabi called on all the Defense Mobilization fighters to head to the Green Zone and participate in the demonstrations to "overthrow the corrupt and take rights by force."

"From here, we announce that we are under the command of the reformed leader Muqtada al-Sadr." He added.

The Iraqi street is awaiting what will happen to the situation in the capital, Baghdad, after counter calls from the leader of the Sadrist movement on the one hand and the forces of the Shiite coordination framework, on the other hand, to demonstrate in front of and inside the green walls.

Tensions have worsened since an October election in which al-Sadr's movement emerged as the biggest bloc with 74 of parliament's 329 seats.

After failing to overturn the result in the courts, the Iran-backed factions set about stymying al-Sadr's efforts to form a government that would include his Kurdish and Sunni allies but excludes groups he described as corrupt or loyal to external forces.

Despite their diminished numbers in parliament, the Iran-aligned groups managed to frustrate al-Sadr by denying the two-thirds quorum needed to elect a Kurdish head of state - the first step towards forming a government.

Frustrated at the deadlock, Sadr instructed his lawmakers to quit parliament in June. The move ceded dozens of seats to the Coordination Framework, meaning it could try to form a government of its choosing, though this would risk al-Sadr's wrath.

Al-Sadr's rivals then floated a candidate, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, seen by al-Sadr's supporters as a Maliki loyalist. This step appears to have been the final straw for Sadr supporters, igniting the protests.

In a statement he issued earlier today, al-Sadr, the arch-foe of the Shiite Coordination Framework, instructed his followers to push for a complete overhaul of the political system, including a new constitution, and expel the country's elites whom he condemned as "corrupt."

In response, the Coordination Framework said it will defend "the legitimacy of the Iraqi state" against Muqtada al-Sadr's calls to "overthrow the state and constitution," calling for mass counter-demonstrations today.