Al-Maliki ‘follows Iran’s agenda to divide Iraq’

Saddam Hussein’s Vice President Izzat Ibrahim Al-Douri accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki yesterday of seeking to implement an Iranian-backed agenda to divide Iraq.
In a videotaped message obtained by Al Arabiya, the fugitive Al-Douri — who was confirmed as the head of Iraq’s Baath Party following the execution of Saddam on Dec. 30, 2006 — said he was speaking from the central Babil Governorate on the anniversary of the Founding of the Iraqi Army.
He expressed support for the thousands of people who have been demonstrating in various Iraqi provinces for two weeks against Al-Maliki.
Yesterday thousands of Sunnis demonstrated across Iraq in the latest of nearly two weeks of rallies criticizing the premier and demanding the release of prisoners they say are wrongfully held.
The protests, which come amid a political deadlock between Al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government and a secular Sunni-backed party that is in his Cabinet but publicly opposes him, have blocked off a key trade route and forced heavy security measures.