- After the escalation of violence in Iraq, the situation in Baghdad has calmed down again.
- The influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had previously called on his followers to withdraw.
- Al-Sadr had threatened to withdraw from his own movement if his people didn’t end their siege of the government district within an hour.
It makes him sad what happened in Iraq, as the Shiite cleric said in a televised speech. He had hoped for peaceful protests. “I apologize to the Iraqi people,” said al-Sadr.
What happened?
Al-Sadr’s supporters had besieged parliament in recent weeks. On Monday they stormed and occupied the government palace that houses Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi’s office.
The month-long power struggle between al-Sadr’s movement and his political opponents turned violent when the 48-year-old Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Monday – for the second time since 2014 – that he was retiring from politics. He accused his rivals of having ignored calls for reforms.
His followers then took up arms. Since then, militias from both sides have been fighting in the highly secured Green Zone – the government district in the center of the capital Baghdad. After al-Sadr’s appeal to withdraw, the security forces lifted a nationwide curfew, state media reported.
25 people die, 450 are injured
According to the Iraqi security forces, four rockets fell in the area in which the government building, the parliament and embassies such as that of the USA are located. According to information from hospitals, security circles and eyewitnesses, at least 25 people died and around 450 were injured.
Al-Sadr’s movement emerged as the strongest force in last October’s parliamentary elections. However, he failed to form a government. He refused to cooperate with the pro-Iranian parties. In this political stalemate, al-Sadr called for the dissolution of parliament and new elections, which his opponents oppose. At the same time, the preacher relied on the pressure of the street.
International Reactions
The UN mission in Iraq welcomes al-Sadr’s “moderate statement”. “Restraint and calm are necessary for reason to prevail,” she wrote on Twitter. Acting Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi tweeted that al-Sadr’s call for an end to violence was “the epitome of patriotism.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the protests. He calls for calm and restraint, said his spokesman. In a statement, the European Union described it as “crucial that all actors refrain from actions that could lead to further violence”. The US ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, declared that the “security, stability and independence of Iraq” could not be jeopardized.