BAGHDAD: Influential leader Muqtada al-Sadr, head of a powerful Shiite movement in Iraq, said Wednesday during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Iraq should not cooperate with “occupiers.”

“We wish for Iraq to cooperate with the neighboring countries and its allies, but not with the occupiers,” said Sadr, whose opinions hold sway over tens of thousands of militants.

His comments highlight the difficulties that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi faces in his attempts to unify a country that rival militias are threatening to tear apart.