As the Iraqi soldiers continue fighting the ISIS militants in the country's north and west with the help of the American airstrikes, the parallel political crisis deepened in the country on Sunday with the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki resisting calls to step down and accusing the new president of violating Iraqi law.
Security forces loyal to the embattled leader have appeared in huge numbers in the capital Baghdad after he went on the state TV to criticise the president.
Maliki is seeking a third term, but has been increasingly facing criticism and calls to step down as the jihadist insurgency group have lead a bloody campaign over the last few months overrunning major swath of the country's north and west.
In a nationally televised speech on Sunday evening, Maliki said he would file a legal complaint against the new president, Fauad Massoum. Maliki's coalition won the most seats in April's elections but parliament has not agreed to give him a third term while the President has declined to intervene.
Maliki, in his address, said Masum had missed a deadline for asking the biggest political bloc to nominate a prime minister.
"This attitude presents a coup on the constitution and the political process in a country that is governed by a democratic and federal system," he said.
"The deliberate violation of the constitution by the president will have grave consequences on the unity, the sovereignty, and the independence of Iraq and the entry of the political process into a dark tunnel," the PM added in a quote translated by BBC.
Within an hour of his speech military tanks were deployed to several neighbourhoods in central Baghdad. There are also significant number of troops, loyal to the Prime Minister, in the capital's "Green Zone", the area where many government buildings, including his residence, the military headquarters and the US Embassy are located, CNN reported.
This comes as there is growing criticisms that Maliki, a Shia, has some how allowed the current crisis to thrive through his sectarian policies and there have been growing calls by Sunnis, Kurds and even fellow Shias asking him to step down.
