Coalition for Iraqi National Unity

The Coalition for Iraqi National Unity (CINU) is a political party in Iraq. It is led by Nehru Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Kasanzani.^[2]

Nehru Kasanzani's father, Sheikh Mohammed al-Kasanzani is the religious leader of the Kasanzani order, which is the largest order of Sufis in Iraq.^[3] Sheikh al-Kasanzani led a pro-government Kurdish militia in the 1970s and 1980s and became an important oil industry middleman in northern Iraq linked to Izzat al-Douri.^[4] In 1999 Nehru and his two brothers were arrested and sentenced to death after Nehru's brother forged Saddam Hussein's signature. After the intervention of a Kurdish Communist former minister, the Kasanzanis were released and allowed to flee to Iraqi Kurdistan, which was outside the control of the Iraqi government.^[3] There, the family are reported to have become CIA agents, feeding them lists of names of people in security services.^[3]

After the invasion of Iraq, al-Kasanzani founded the Iraqi National Unity Coalition. They stood in the January and December 2005 elections as list 552 but failed to win any seats. They did, however, win 5 provincial assembly seats in Salah ad Din in 2005 and won 14,439 votes and two provincial assembly seats in the Al Anbar governorate election, 2009.^[5]

In January 2010 the party was banned by the De-Baathification Commission with 14 others for links with the banned Baath Party.^[6]

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