After storming the Iraqi government palace and throwing an impromptu pool party, demonstrators engaged in violent battles that claimed 23 lives. After the powerful leader Moqtada al-Sadr resigned, Baghdad was engulfed in violence. His supporters seized the government mansion and held a pool party at first.
But the initial celebrations quickly turned violent, as Sadr’s supporters clashed with other Shi’ite militias backed by Iran’s neighbors.
23 individuals were killed in violent skirmishes between different Iraqi forces when protestors invaded a government palace and held an impromptu pool party.
The fights broke out in Baghdad when the powerful Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr declared he was leaving politics. He cited the failure of other Shi’ite leaders and parties to overhaul a corrupt and decaying governing system as the reason for his decision.
Sadr’s strength relies from his capacity to mobilize and exert control over a vast grassroots following, but with his announced departure from politics, he has tacitly granted them the freedom to act as they see right.
Monday, shortly after Sadr’s declaration, his supporters attacked the government’s Republican Palace, formerly the palace of tyrant Saddam Hussein, and leaped into a swimming pool while waving flags.
The initial jubilation, however, descended into violence as Sadr’s supporters clashed with opposing Shi’ite militias backed by Iran.
As darkness set, machine-gun fire and explosions sounded out, with tracer fire rising above the Green Zone, which contains government headquarters and international embassies, in the fiercest fighting the Iraqi city has witnessed in years.
Tuesday, Sadr supporters fired rocket-propelled grenades into the Green Zone of Iraq, where it appeared Iraqi security troops fired back.
23 individuals were killed in violent skirmishes between different Iraqi forces when protestors invaded a government palace and held an impromptu pool party.
Monday, just after Sadr’s declaration, his supporters rushed the Republican Palace, formerly the palace of tyrant Saddam Hussein, and initially leapt into a swimming pool while cheering and waving flags.
The initial jubilation, however, descended into violence as Sadr’s supporters clashed with opposing Shi’ite militias backed by Iran. On Monday, Sadr supporters assisted injured demonstrators during skirmishes outside the government palace.
Tuesday in Baghdad’s Green Zone, armed members of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigade), the military wing connected with Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, clashed with Iraqi security forces.
On Monday night, at least seven shells dropped in the high-security Green Zone, a security source said on condition of anonymity, but it was not immediately obvious who was responsible.
Tuesday morning, after a brief break in violence, fresh skirmishes erupted between Sadr’s supporters and the army and troops of the Hashed al-Shaabi, former Iran-backed paramilitaries integrated into Iraqi forces.
AFP correspondents reported hearing automatic gunfire and the larger explosions of rocket-propelled grenades emanating from the Green Zone.
Iraq’s political turmoil has left the country without a government, prime minister, or president for months, and tensions rose dramatically after Sadr’s followers stormed the government palace on Monday afternoon, after their leader’s statement that he was leaving politics.
As Iraq attempts to recover from decades of war, sanctions, internal unrest, and pervasive corruption, the violence has propelled the country into a new cycle of violence.
Since 2003, Iraqi groups have engaged in intra-sectarian and intra-ethnic political struggle.
The most recent outbreak of violence pits Sadr’s supporters, including a heavily armed militia, against rival paramilitaries affiliated with Iran and the security forces.
The United Nations mission in Iraq warned of a “very dangerous escalation” and urged all parties to “avoid actions that could spark an uncontrollable sequence of events.”
It warned that “the very life of the state is at jeopardy.”
Baghdad was otherwise quiet on Tuesday as a result of an army-imposed nationwide curfew, with stores closed and few vehicles on the streets.
On Tuesday morning, medics revised the death toll of Sadr supporters to 23, with a further 380 injured, some with bullet wounds and others with tear gas inhalation.
Earlier testimony indicated that Sadr followers and members of a competing Shiite bloc, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, had fired gunfire.
Tuesday, Sadr’s supporters fire their weapons during clashes with Iraqi security forces near Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Monday, supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr assist protestors who were hurt amid clashes with anti-riot authorities near the office of the prime minister in Baghdad.
Monday, Iraqi security officers fired tear gas towards Shiite cleric Muqtada al-followers Sadr’s inside the government Palace.
The Framework criticized the Sadrists’ “assault on state institutions” and urged them to participate in “dialogue.”
Mustafa al-Kadhemi, the caretaker prime minister, stated that’security or military forces, or armed persons’ are barred from opening fire on protestors.
In response to the ‘disturbing’ reports, the United States also encouraged calm, while France asked ‘the parties to exercise the utmost caution’
Sadr’s victory in an election held in October, his attempts to form a government free of Iran-backed groups, and his eventual withdrawal from parliament in favor of street protests and occupying government buildings to thwart political activity all contributed to the buildup of tensions that culminated in Monday’s outbreak of fresh violence.
I have resolved not to intervene in political matters. I hereby declare my definitive resignation,’ said Sadr, a lifelong player in the political scene of the war-torn country, although he has never served in administration.
Sadr’s followers, who had been occupying the parliament building for weeks, rushed into the Republican Palace in Baghdad, where cabinet meetings are typically held, and initially rejoiced by cooling off in the garden’s swimming pool shortly after his resignation announcement.
Sadr’s supporters, who had been occupying the parliament building for weeks, rushed into the Republican Palace in Baghdad for a pool party just after he announced his resignation.
Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-supporters Sadr’s swim in the pool of the government palace.
Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-supporters Sadr’s swim in the pool of the government palace.
Young men loyal to Sadr and supporters of pro-Iran militias flung stones at one another in the vicinity of the Green Zone before to the nightly violent conflict.
Sadr later said that he would engage in a hunger strike to protest the use of firearms by all sides.
This comes two days after Sadr stated that “all parties,” including his own, should resign from government positions to assist resolve the political situation.
His party came from the election of the previous year as the largest in the legislature, with 73 members, but not a majority.
In an effort to break the stalemate, his lawmakers resigned in June, resulting in the Coordination Framework being the largest bloc.
Hamzeh Hadad of the European Council on Foreign Relations stated that Sadr’s plan was “not apparent.”
Hadad stated, “In typical Sadrist fashion, one should always anticipate a reversal of position.”
The second and more frightening thought is that he is giving his followers permission to do whatever they want.
Tuesday in Baghdad’s Green Zone, an armed member of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigade), the military wing connected with Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, fires during skirmishes with Iraqi security forces.
Tuesday in Baghdad’s Green Zone, armed members of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigade), the military wing connected with Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, clashed with Iraqi security forces.
Since the legislative elections in October of last year, Iraq has been embroiled in political stalemate due to disagreements amongst Shiite groupings regarding the formation of a coalition.
Sadr’s supporters have been staging a sit-in in front of the Iraqi parliament for weeks, after invading the building on July 30 to urge their demands.
The Coordination Framework demands that a new head of government be nominated prior to holding new elections.
Sadr, who has garnered widespread support by opposing both U.S. and Iranian influence in Iraqi politics, was the top vote-getter in the October election, but he withdrew all of his lawmakers from parliament in June after he failed to form a government that excluded his rivals, who were predominantly Shi’ite parties backed by Tehran.
Sadr has pressed on holding early elections and dissolving parliament. He believes that no politician who has been in power since the 2003 U.S. invasion should continue to hold office.
Many Iraqis are concerned that the actions of each Shi’ite faction could spark a new civil war.
Sadr supporter Kadhim Haitham stated, “The (Iranian) loyalists arrived and torched the Sadrists’ tents and attacked the protestors.”
Pro-Iran groups attributed the fighting to the Sadrists and denied firing on anyone. If our people had guns, why would they need to throw rocks?’ claimed a member of the militia who declined to be recognized by name.
Sadr has previously resigned from politics and the government and disbanded his loyal forces. However, he maintains extensive control over state institutions and thousands of members of a paramilitary organization.
He has frequently returned to political involvement following similar statements, despite the fact that the current standoff appears more difficult to resolve than previous times of dysfunction and has given Iraq its longest stretch without a functioning government.
In July, supporters of the volatile priest first invaded the Green Zone. Since then, they have occupied parliament, effectively preventing the selection of a new president and prime minister.
Tuesday in Najaf, Iraq, mourners pray in front of the coffins of supporters of Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr who were murdered during riots in Baghdad.
After protestors stormed government facilities, Sadr’s friend Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who remains caretaker prime minister, postponed cabinet sessions until further notice and publicly begged with Sadr to intervene to stop the violence.
Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has struggled to recover since the defeat of Islamic State in 2017 due to political parties squabbling over control and its massive oil wealth.
Iran has completely blocked its borders with Iraq and warned its nationals against traveling there, a top Iranian official said Tuesday.
Every year, millions of Iranians come to the Iraqi city of Kerbala for the Arbaeen rite, which marks the conclusion of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. This year, Arbaeen falls on September 16-17.
The Iraqi border has been closed. Iran’s deputy interior minister Majid Mirahmadi was quoted on state television as saying that Iranians must desist from traveling to Iraq pending further notice due to safety concerns.
State television said that Iran had suspended all flights to Iraq “until further notice” due to the continued violence.
‘We are attempting to organize an emergency flight to return Iranians from Baghdad and Iraq who are now at the airport. We aim to remove them today,’ a top aviation official was quoted as saying on state television.