After a powerful Shiite cleric made his resignation from Iraqi politics public on Monday, hundreds of his enraged supporters stormed the government palace and engaged in violent clashes with security forces that left at least three protesters dead.
Medical authorities said that during the demonstrations that followed the statement by Shiite preacher Muqtada al-Sadr, at least 15 demonstrators were shot and at least another dozen were hurt by tear gas and physical altercations with riot police.
In reaction to the violence, the military of Iraq issued a nationwide curfew and the caretaker prime minister halted Cabinet meetings.
Since al-party Sadr’s did not obtain enough seats to form a majority administration in the legislative elections held in October, the government of Iraq has remained impassed.
His unwillingness to engage in negotiations with his Shiite adversaries who are supported by Iran and his subsequent withdrawal from those negotiations have plunged the nation into political unrest and instability as internal Shiite strife becomes more intense.
Al-Sadr has wrapped his rhetoric in a nationalist and reform agenda to advance his political goals; this agenda resonates strongly with his large grassroots base, which is made up primarily of people from Iraq’s poorest socioeconomic groups who have traditionally been excluded from the political system.
They are demanding the dissolution of parliament and early elections without the involvement of organisations supported by Iran, whom they hold accountable for the current state of affairs.
A large number of demonstrators broke through the palace gates on Monday and used ropes to take down the cement barricades in front of the government palace.
Many rushed into the palace’s opulent salons and marbled halls, a major gathering spot for foreign and Iraqi dignitaries.
Several protestors were injured and being dragged away when an Associated Press photographer heard gunfire.
At least one demonstrator was killed by gunshot, according to three government sources, and two more people had died, according to medics, according to the French news agency AFP.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the governorate building in Missan, and protests also broke out in the Shiite-dominated southern provinces, with al-supporters Sadr’s torching tyres and blocking roads in the oil-rich province of Basra.
Iran has frequently made an effort to mediate a discussion with al-Sadr because it sees internal strife within the Shiite community as a danger to its power in Iraq.
To prevent Al-adversaries Sadr’s in the Coordination Framework, an alliance of mostly Shiite parties with links to Iran, from establishing a government in July, Al-followers Sadr’s burst into the parliament.
For more than four weeks, hundreds have been holding a sit-in outside the building.
Additionally, his party’s caucus left the legislature. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is the main foe of al-Sadr, is in charge of the Framework.
Many criticised the latest announcement by al-Sadr, who has previously called for early elections and the dissolution of parliament, as another bluff to gain more leverage over his rivals in the midst of a worsening deadlock.
The cleric has previously used this strategy when unfavourable political events have occurred.
However, many are worried that it’s a risky move and are concerned about how it will affect Iraq’s precarious political environment.
Al-Sadr is allowing his supporters, who are mostly excluded from the political system, to act as they please by withdrawing from the political process.
Al-Sadr leads a militia in addition to having a sizable grassroots following that gives him political clout. By appointing important civil servants to important positions, he also continues to exert significant influence within Iraq’s state institutions.
His adversaries who are backed by Iran also have militias.
The Iraqi military promptly declared a nationwide curfew that will start on Monday at 7 o’clock.
According to a statement, it urged the cleric’s followers to exercise calm and promptly leave the strongly defended government zone “to avoid violence or the shedding of Iraqi blood.”
The statement said, “The security forces underline their obligation to safeguard public and private property, foreign missions, and government institutions.”
Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the interim prime minister of Iraq, urged al-Sadr to ask his supporters to leave official buildings. He also announced the suspension of Cabinet sessions.
The priest ordered the closing of his party’s headquarters and tweeted his decision to leave politics. Institutions for religion and culture will continue to operate.
The retirement of Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, who counts many of al-fans Sadr’s as followers, appears to have influenced al-decision Sadr’s on Monday in part.
Al-Haeri called on his followers to support Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instead of the Shiite spiritual centre in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf the day before he announced he would resign as a religious leader due to health issues.
Al-Sadr took a hit from the action. Al-resignation, Haeri’s according to his statement, “was not of his own choosing.”