Several rockets were fired at Baghdad’s “green zone” on Tuesday, August 30, as fighting between supporters of Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr and the army, supported by men from Hashd Al-Chaabi (“units of the Popular Mobilization”), former pro-Iran paramilitaries integrated into the regular forces, have resumed with renewed vigour. This escalation has killed at least twenty-three people in the past twenty-four hours, according to a new report provided by a medical source, and 380 people injured.
Violence erupted Monday in Baghdad after the decision of the Shiite imam Moqtada al Sadr to leave Iraqi political life, blocked since the legislative elections last October. Sadrist youths stormed the government headquarters located in the “Green Zone”, a secure neighborhood housing government buildings and embassies, and took to the streets where they clashed with members of pro-Iranian factions.
Conflict between Shia organizations
The capital was shaken during the night by heavy fire and the explosion of rockets, and on Tuesday, the fire of automatic weapons and rocket launchers echoed throughout Baghdad from the “green zone”. The curfew in force since Monday evening throughout Iraq was maintained on Tuesday. Schools, administrations and shops are closed. A few rare cars venture into the streets of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital where the army and the police make sure that the curfew is respected.
The chaos spread to other Iraqi regions: in the province of Dhi Qar, Sadrists invaded the seat of the governorate and entered other official buildings in Nasiriyah. The seat of the province of Babylon, in the city of Hilla, was also occupied by supporters of Moqtada Al-Sadr.
The political crisis in Iraq has been going on since the legislative elections of October 2021. The Shiite political forces, in particular that of Moqtada Al-Sadr, have been unable to agree on a new prime minister and a new government.
In Washington, the White House judged the situation “disturbing” and called for calm and dialogue. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on all parties to “take immediate action to defuse the situation”. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called, late Monday evening, the parties “to the greatest restraint”. France “calls them to responsibility and to immediately stop the deadly clashes”the ministry said in a statement.