Iraqi cleric calls on loyalists to withdraw after clashes

Iraqi cleric calls on loyalists to withdraw after clashes
# 30 August 2022 13:31 (UTC +04:00)

An influential Iraqi cleric called on his supporters to withdraw Tuesday from the Green Zone, where they have traded heavy fire with security forces in a serious escalation of a monthslong political crisis gripping the nation, APA reports citing Washington Post.

In a televised speech, Muqtada al-Sadr gave his supporters an hour to leave. The unrest broke out Monday, when al-Sadr announced he would resign from politics and his supporters stormed the Green Zone, once the stronghold of the U.S. military that’s now home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies. At least 30 people have been killed, officials said.

Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since al-Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government — unleashing months of infighting between different Shiite factions. Al-Sadr refused to negotiate with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals, and his withdrawal Monday catapulted Iraq into political uncertainty and volatility with no clear path out.

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