BASRA, Feb 26: Shia religious scholar Muqtada al-Sadr returned to Iraq on Sunday, calling for unity among Sunnis and Shias following bombing of holy shrines of Imam Ali Naqi (AS) and Imam Hassan Askari (AS) and a wave of reprisal attacks against Sunnis.

Addressing supporters in the southern city of Basra, Sadr accused Iraq’s enemies of fomenting sectarian strife.

“I call upon all believers, Sunnis and Shias, to unite. All Iraqis should be brothers to each other,” he said.

Sadr called for a stop to attacks on mosques on Sunday, saying: “There is no such thing as Sunni or Shia mosques. The mosques are for all Iraqi people and for all Muslims.”

He also proposed a joint demonstration of Muslims and non-Muslims alike in Baghdad to demonstrate solidarity, demand the withdrawal of occupying forces and denounce the acts of extremists.

Sadr was in Lebanon, his fifth stop on a Middle East tour, when the crisis started on Wednesday. He cut short the visit and made his way back to Iraq via Iran.

Hundreds of supporters were at the boarder to welcome Sadr when he arrived back on Sunday, said Sheik Ali al-Assadi, the cleric’s representative in Basra. He was expected later in the day in the holy city of Najaf, his hometown.

On Saturday, Sunni and Shia clerics, including Sadr followers, joined hands at a meeting in Baghdad where they agreed to prohibit the killing of Iraqis and defend each other’s mosques.—AP