Kuwaiti MPs Plan to Grill Minister over Shiite Move

Two Kuwaiti Shiite lawmakers on Monday filed a motion to question the municipality minister for allegedly ordering the removal of tents used by Shiites at a major religious event.

Abdullah al-Tameemi and Faisal al-Duwaisan accused State Minister for Municipality and Housing Salem al-Othaina of "undermining national unity, destabilizing the internal front, misusing authority and breaching the constitution".

They accused Othaina of ordering the removal of the tents used to mark the martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein, highly revered by Shiite Muslims, even though the tents were licensed.

The cabinet of the oil-rich Gulf state has ordered an investigation into why the tents were removed and who made the decision.

Shiites say they comprise around a third of the Sunni-ruled country's 1.22 million native citizens.

Kuwait has witnessed rising sectarian tension during the past few years, mostly impacted by regional turmoil in Iraq and Syria.

The motion to question the minister is the seventh to be filed against members of the Kuwaiti government, formed in August, in the past two weeks.

Two of them have targeted Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family.