Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi urged armed factions on Wednesday to join state institutions, as the US mounts pressure on Baghdad to disarm groups backed by Iran. Zaidi, who only recently took office, has voiced support for the state's monopoly on weapons as Washington calls for groups it designates as terrorist organisations to hand over their weapons to the government. It comes after influential cleric Muqtada al Sadr said his own group would do so. Sadr, a cleric with a large popular following who once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces, has long criticised armed factions and repeatedly urged them to disarm.
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