Thousands Rally in Iraq Against al-Maliki Government

December 26, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Thousands of Iraqi demonstrators massed again in the city of Ramadi in Sunni-dominated province west of the capital. It was the third major protest in less than a week in Iraq's largest province of Anbar, once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion in 2003. Sunni officials have accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of "sectarian cleansing campaign." Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports.

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Nouri al-Maliki

Nuri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki, also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Pr... Explore this topic

Ramadi

Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate. The city extends more than 60 kilometers along the Euphrates and is the largest city in Al-Anbar. Explore this topic

Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia encompassing the Mesopotamian alluvial plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the... Explore this topic

Protest

An act of defiance or objection by an individual or group of people. Protests can take many forms: peaceful or violent, direct or indirect, large or small. Protests in the news are often political in nature, as groups of citizens voice their disagreement or dissatisfaction. Pr... Explore this topic

Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam; its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhlu-s-Sunnati wa-l-Jamāʿah, "people of the tradition of Muhammad and the consensus of the Ummah" or ʾAhlu-s-Sunnah. For short, in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites... Explore this topic

Prime Minister of Iraq

The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the Prime Minister is to be the country's active ex... Explore this topic

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 19 March 2003 to 1 May 2003, and signaled the start of the conflict that later came to be known as the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States. The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, i... Explore this topic

Al Anbar Governorate

Al Anbar Governorate is the largest governorate in Iraq geographically. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The provincial capital is Ramadi, other important cities include Fallujah and Haditha. Before 1... Explore this topic

Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is an international 24-hour English-language news and current affairs TV channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the sister channel of the Arabic-language Al Jazeera. The station broadcasts news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current... Explore this topic

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Nouri al-Maliki

Ramadi

Protest