Maliki Calls It Quits

Iraq’s troublesome PM is stepping down.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has resigned, in a move observers hope will end a political crisis in Baghdad.

Haider al-Abadi, a deputy speaker of parliament, has been asked by Iraq’s president to form a government.

Mr Maliki’s earlier refusal to resign after eight years in power had been blamed for deepening the crisis. The UN and US have welcomed his resignation.

The government has been unable to stop Islamist fighters from seizing vast areas in northern Iraq.

In addition to that, Maliki had deployed elements of the Iraqi army around Baghdad to protect his own hold on power. That opened the possibility of civil war, while the IS is still rampaging in the north.