Two people were killed in Baghdad on Monday after Iraq’s powerful Shia Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decided to quit politics over a political standoff, sparking clashes between his supporters and supporters of Iran-backed rivals.
Youth loyal to Sadar, who took to the streets to protest the cleric’s move, clashed with supporters of Tehran-backed groups. They threw stones at each other outside Baghdad’s Green Zone, which is home to ministries and embassies.
Gunshots echoed in central Baghdad, reporters said. At least some of the shots appeared to have come from cannons fired into the air, although the source of all the bullets in the armed country was not immediately clear.
Police and medical personnel said that apart from the death of two people, 19 people were injured.
The clashes came hours after Sadar announced his withdrawal from politics, which prompted his supporters, who had been staging a week-long sit-in at Parliament in the Green Zone, to demonstrate and storm the main cabinet headquarters.
Iraq’s military announced a curfew from 3:30 pm (1230 GMT) and urged protesters to leave the green zone.
During the impasse to form a new government, Sadr has strengthened legions of his supporters, thwarting Iraq’s effort to overcome decades of conflict and sanctions and its efforts to combat sectarian conflict and rampant corruption.
Sadr, who has garnered widespread support by opposing both US and Iranian influence on Iraqi politics, was the biggest winner from October’s election, but after withdrawing all of his lawmakers from parliament in June, the government ousted his rivals. Failed to form, supported mostly Tehran- Shia parties.
Sadar has insisted on early elections and dissolution of Parliament. He says that no politician who has been in power since the US invasion in 2003 can remain in office.
“I hereby announce my final return,” Sadar said in a statement posted on Twitter.
He did not elaborate on the closure of his offices, but said cultural and religious institutions would remain open.
deadlock
Sadar has in the past withdrawn from politics and government and has also disbanded the militias loyal to him. But he wields enormous influence over state institutions and controls a paramilitary group with thousands of members.
He has often returned to political activity following similar announcements, although the current impasse in Iraq appears to be harder to resolve than the laxity of the past.
The current standoff between Sadr and Shia rivals has made Iraq the longest without a government.
Supporters of the merchant cleric then stormed the central government area of Baghdad. Since then, he has taken over parliament, stalling the process of choosing a new president and prime minister.
Sadr’s aide Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who remains caretaker prime minister, postponed cabinet meetings until further notice after Sadr protesters stormed the government headquarters on Monday.
Iraq has been struggling to recover since the Islamic State defeat in 2017 as political parties dispute power and the vast oil wealth held by Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer.
— the ending —