Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to withdraw from the Green Zone compound

Violent clashes broke out in the capital Baghdad yesterday due to A-Seder's announcement that he was retiring from political life.

22 people were killed and a hundred were injured.

The United States has described the stalemate in Baghdad as "disturbing."

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington does not currently see a need to evacuate its staff from the embassy.

news agencies

30/08/2022

Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 12:41 p.m. Updated: 1:31 p.m.

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On video: documentation of RPG and submachine gun fire in Baghdad (Photo: Reuters)

Militants fired rockets this morning (Tuesday) at the protected green zone in Baghdad, against the background of continued clashes between Shiite Muslim groups.

The influential religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who announced yesterday that he is retiring from political life, called on his protesting supporters to withdraw from the Green Zone compound in the capital, Baghdad.

A-Seder's announcement yesterday that he was retiring from political life immediately provoked an angry reaction from his supporters who stormed the fortified compound and entered the government building while a cabinet meeting was in progress.

22 people were killed in the clashes and more than a hundred were injured, and a curfew was imposed in the country.

In addition, Iran closed its border with Iraq following the worst clashes in Baghdad in years.

Following the violence, al-Sadr called on his supporters this morning to disperse and said that "the shedding of Iraqi blood is forbidden."

The Iraqi security forces have announced that they will lift the curfew throughout the country.

Protesters stormed the parliament building in Baghdad (Photo: Reuters)

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Yesterday, A-Seder announced that he was retiring from political life.

Al-Sadr's party won the majority of seats in the elections last October, but in June its representatives withdrew from the parliament on his orders after they failed to form a coalition without the pro-Iranian parties.

The Shiite cleric's supporters have harassed the parliament and other government institutions in recent weeks, demanding new elections and political reforms.

"I hereby announce my final retirement," A-Seder wrote on Twitter, blaming his political opponents for the failure of reforms and the fight against corruption.

He announced that he would close his movement's political offices, without elaborating, but added that its cultural and religious institutions would remain open.

Later, A-Seder said that he would go on a hunger strike to protest the use of weapons against all parties involved.

Hours after his announcement, his supporters stormed the Palace of the Republic, which used to be the residence of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Some of them were recorded chanting slogans against Iran, waving Iraqi flags and wading in the palace pool.

The security forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters, urging them to stay away from the fortified government compound.

The current period is the longest in Iraq's modern history without a functioning government.

Sheikh Muqtada al-Seder (Photo: Reuters)

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The United States described the unrest in Baghdad as "disturbing" and called for dialogue to resolve Iraq's political problems.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington does not currently see a need to evacuate its staff from the embassy in the Green Zone.

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