Washington/New York/Baghdad: At least 23 people were reportedly killed in gunshots and rocket fire in Baghdad after a prominent Shia Muslim cleric of Iraq, Muqtada Al-Sadr, decided to quit politics.
Supporters of Al-Sadr known as Peace Brigades clashed with security forces and militias aligned with Iran, in Baghdad.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi termed demonstrators storming the Green Zone and entering government institutions as “dangerous developments” and said that pointed to the “seriousness of the consequences of the continuing and accumulating political differences”. He had called on Al-Sadr, reminding the latter that he had always supported the state and underscored the importance of its authority as well as respect for the security forces. Al-Kadhimi had urged the cleric to help call on the demonstrators to withdraw from government institutions.
“The transgressions by protestors on state institutions is an act that stands condemned and falls outside legal avenues,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
Al-Sadr on his part called for restraint and asked the demonstrators to immediately withdraw from the Green Zone and abide by the instructions of the security forces responsible for protecting official institutions and the lives of citizens. Following his call, reports suggest that his supporters started withdrawing from Baghdad’s Green Zone today.
It may be mentioned that Iraq has been facing political instability ever since the October 2021 elections in the country, which had proved inconclusive after Sadr’s group despite winning the highest number of seats could not agree on the formation of a new government with the second largest bloc, comprised mainly of Iran-backed parties.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated in New York that he was “following with concern” the ongoing protests in Iraq today, during which demonstrators entered government buildings. He was particularly concerned about reports of casualties, appealed for calm and restraint and urged all relevant actors to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and avoid any violence.
The Secretary-General “strongly” urged all parties and actors to rise above their differences and to engage, without further delay, in a peaceful and inclusive dialogue on a constructive way forward.
“What we’re seeing today is a very dangerous escalation,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General told reporters in New York today.
The UN Mission in Iraq too called for all the protesters to immediately leave the international zone in Baghdad, vacate all of the buildings they have occupied and allow for the business of government to go on. “Our Special Representative is in Baghdad and continuing her work and her contacts,” Dujarric said.
Top photo: Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi making an appeal to the warring blocs
– global bihari bureau
