(11 Aug 2014) Hundreds of demonstrators on Monday took to the streets in central Baghdad declaring their full support to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"We are with you, al-Maliki," they shouted, waving posters of the incumbent premier, singing and dancing.
In a sign of rising tensions, Iraqi special forces loyal to al-Maliki were deployed at Baghdad's main intersections on Monday, police officials said.
Two of the capital's main streets - popular spots for pro and anti-government rallies - were partially closed as hundreds of al-Maliki's supporters took to the streets.
Iraq's embattled Prime Minister is taking his struggle to keep his job to the courts after announcing he will file a legal complaint on Monday against the country's newly elected president Fouad Massoum for not naming him prime minister.
The deadlock over a new government has plunged Iraq into a political crisis at a time it is fighting a land grab by militants from the Islamic State in the country's north and west.
Al-Maliki has resisted calls for his resignation and the political infighting could hamper efforts to stem advances by the Sunni militants.
Ayad al-Malah, an Iraqi analyst and writer told AP that al-Maliki's address has complicated the political scene.
"It might put the country in a constitutional vacuum. I think all politicians have dealt with the crisis impulsively and emotionally. They didn't tackle the crisis objectively. There were constitutional timelines, they have to commit to,'' al-Malah said.
Maliki, whose coalition won the most seats in April elections, is accusing the new president Fouad Massoum of neglecting to name a prime minister from the country's largest parliamentary bloc by Sunday's deadline.


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