ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will not attend the Arab League summit set to be held in Baghdad on Saturday, his office announced on Monday. This came after opposition from several pro-Iran politicians against the visit. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will represent Damascus at the event, the Syrian state-owned al-Ikhbariyah cited the country’s presidency as saying. A senior Iraqi government source confirmed to Rudaw that Baghdad had invited Sharaa to attend the summit, scheduled for Saturday, but that he would be sending his foreign minister as a representative. “Ahmed Sharaa’s absence is not related to security,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “Other leaders, such as the king of Morocco, have also said they will not attend. His absence is normal.” Sharaa’s decision to skip the summit comes amid ongoing controversy over his participation. On Monday night, protesters took to the streets in Iraq’s Shiite-majority southern province of Basra, chanting slogans against Sharaa and denouncing him as “Jolani,” his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Demonstrators shouted, “No, no to Jolani. No, no to terrorism.” The protests come despite a ban on demonstrations from May 11 to May 20, announced by Iraq’s interior ministry. On Saturday, authorities cited the need to focus security efforts on the summit and warned that any attempts to hold protests would be considered illegal. “Instructions have been issued to arrest anyone who tries to demonstrate,” the ministry said. However, the statement does not specify if the ban is nationwide or exclusive to Baghdad. In April, Iran-aligned political and armed factions in Iraq voiced strong opposition to Sharaa’s potential attendance, citing an outstanding Iraqi arrest warrant linked to his past affiliation with al-Qaeda. A few days prior to the backlash, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani held his first meeting with Sharaa in Qatar. Sharaa was elected the interim president in late January after a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - which he commanded before its dissolution and merger into the Syrian defense ministry in late December - toppled the regime of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. While most Arab countries congratulated Sharaa on his appointment as president in late January, Iraq withheld formal recognition, reflecting Baghdad’s cautious stance toward the new leadership and the influence of Iran-backed factions within the country. In a report published in March, AFP cited Iraqi security officials who confirmed that the arrest warrant against Sharaa remains active. The Financial Times also reported that Sharaa was detained by US forces in Iraq in 2005 and imprisoned in Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca, west and south of Baghdad, respectively.
