The leader of Iraq's best-known Shia opposition group has returned home after more than 23 years of exile in Iran. Ayatollah Mohammad Baqr al-Hakim, who heads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (Sciri), crossed the border on Saturday morning to a tumultuous welcome. The BBC's Frank Gardner, who witnessed the scene, says thousands of supporters had driven out to meet the ayatollah.
| "Hurrah! The ayatollah's here! Let's cut somebody's head off!" |
His movements are likely to be closely watched by United States and British officials — who are concerned that he might push for an Islamic state in Iraq. During his years in exile, he headed an armed militia and called for Saddam Hussein to be replaced by an Iranian-style theocracy. However the 63-year-old cleric has recently said he favours a democratically elected coalition government in Baghdad. Ayatollah Hakim has gone to the southern city of Basra, where he is due to address a rally. Thousands of Iraqi Shias have been gathering at the city's stadium, waving green flags of Islam and posters of the ayatollah. "Hakim has had many martyrs in his family," one his supporters, Mohammad Lamrayani, told Reuters news agency. "He deserves our welcome after 23 years abroad. It is the right of every Iraqi to come back now after the fall of Saddam Hussein."
The ayatollah was accompanied by an entourage of about 100 gunnies armed men at the special welcoming ceremony. The BBC's Jane Peel says the roads to the stadium are virtually blocked as people rush to see their spiritual leader for the first time in 23 years. Our correspondent adds that, although Basra is dominated by Shias, many are uncomfortable at the idea of an Islamic state. Some are also wary because of the Ayatollah Hakim's Iranian connections. Recently there has been speculation over whether he would continue to head Sciri or hand over the leadership to his younger brother, Abdul aziz Hakim. He has already returned and, as deputy head of Sciri, is taking part in talks with US officials on an interim Iraqi authority. Ayatollah Hakim is later expected to travel from Basra to the Iraqi city of Najaf - one of the most important for holy sites Iraq's Shia majority. |