Heavy clashes raged in Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 20 people and hundreds wounded, after the followers of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the government palace after Sadr’s resignation and announcement of quitting politics.
Hundreds of protestors were injured by live bullets, tear gas, and physical altercations as security forces tried to push out demonstrators from Iraq’s Republican Palace.
The military has urged Sadr’s supporters to immediately end protests and quit the heavily fortified Green Zone “to prevent clashes or the spilling of Iraqi blood”, according to a statement. Meanwhile, a nationwide curfew has been announced effective 7 pm to curb the unrest.
PM and President ask protesters to quit
Additionally, the caretaker prime minister of Iraq suspended cabinet sessions and asked al-Sadr “to help call on the demonstrators to withdraw from government institutions.”
President Barham Salih also urged calm saying, “the difficult circumstance that our country is going through requires everyone to abide by calm, restraint, prevent escalation, and ensure that the situation does not slip into unknown and dangerous labyrinths in which everyone will lose.”
Muqtada al-Sadr’s resignation
Sadr, a well-known Shiite cleric, on Monday announced his “final retirement” from politics and shutting down of all his political offices across the country.
This is not the first time Sadr has announced his retirement. He had made a similar announcement in June, claiming “not to interfere in political affairs.” The decision had sparked weeks of tensions and protests. At that time, he said his request was “a sacrifice for the country and the people to rid them of the unknown destiny.”
Muqtada al-Sadr’s win in the October 2021 elections, his efforts to form a government free of Iran-backed groups, and eventually drawing out from parliament in favor of street protests and occupying government buildings to block political activity have all contributed to the build-up of tensions that finally erupted into new violence on Monday.