Top Shiite cleric calls for unity government in Iraq

Iraq's top Shiite cleric yesterday urged the country's fractious political leaders to unite and form a government to help stem advances by Sunni militants who have overrun large swathes of territory.

Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on the blocs to name a new prime minister, president and speaker of parliament by the time the new legislature meets on Tuesday.

"That is the beginning of the political solution that everyone is looking for," Abdul Mehdi Karbalai, speaking for Sistani, said during a Friday prayer sermon in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala.

Following previous elections, the president has typically been a Kurd, while a Shiite Arab has been prime minister and a Sunni Arab has been the speaker of parliament. But little progress on deciding the posts has been made in the face of the crisis.

"No one should think of division as a solution to the current crisis," said Karbalai.

"The solution that preserves the unity of Iraq and the rights of all its components according to the constitution is already there, and can be agreed on if the intentions are good from all sides."

Militants led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began a lightning offensive on June 9, capturing major cities and parts of five provinces north and west of Baghdad.