Iraq’s top Shiite cleric calls for political shakeup in Baghdad, halt to violence

Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric called for a political shakeup in Baghdad and a halt to violence against demonstrators on Friday. Ayatollah Ali Sistani’s statement came after days of deadly protests tore through Basra in the south and shut the country’s main sea port. Sistani, 88, the ultimate authority for most members of Iraq’s Shiite majority, placed blame for the unrest with political leaders and said a new government should be formed, “different from its predecessors,” Reuters reported. Sistani has been known to intervene in politics when he sees the country’s future in danger. In his Friday prayer sermon, read out by an aide, he demanded an end to the use of violence against “peaceful protests” and placed the blame squarely on politicians for corruption, poverty and unemployment. At least 10 protesters have died since Monday in Basra, a city of 2 million people where residents complain that infrastructure has collapsed.