'Moqtada Sadr’s objective is to preserve his movement’s influence within the state and public opinion'

In an exceptional move, popular Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr on Tuesday, Dec. 16, ordered the suspension of his armed militia, Saraya al-Salam, as well as the closure of its offices in Basra, in southern Iraq, and Wasit, to the east, for six months. The religious figure, who had called for a boycott of the last November legislative elections, also tasked the group’s deputy leader, Tahsin al-Humaidawi, with supervising the freezing of all militia activities "pending a resolution to repeated violations and the defamation of his fighters’ reputation." The decision came just hours after a video surfaced online showing Saraya members assaulting municipal official Atheer al-Ubaid in downtown Basra. This incident followed the demolition, at al-Ubaid’s orders, of the house of Qusay al-Asadi — a Sadrist cleric and Saraya al-Salam...