Likely counter-protests in Baghdad amid political tension in the country

Security forces were put on alert Monday after calls by political rivals of religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters have controlled the parliament building since Saturday, to demonstrate amid escalating political tensions in the country.

And social networking sites quoted the assertions of supporters of the "coordinating framework" coalition, which brings together Shiite factions loyal to Iran, that their supporters' protests "are not directed against a person or group."

Tensions have escalated in Iraq for several days, as supporters of the Sadrist movement stormed Parliament twice and began a sit-in on Saturday, rejecting the nomination of Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, 52, by the coordinating framework.

In anticipation of the emergence of a new demonstration called for by the coordination framework, the security forces took measures, including deploying their forces, especially around the Green Zone, and closing important roads, which led to severe traffic crises in the capital.

Iraq has been experiencing complete political paralysis since the legislative elections in October 2021. Endless negotiations between the major political forces did not lead to the election of a President of the Republic and the assignment of a Prime Minister.

Al-Sadr, who has a wide popular base, showed that he is still able to mobilize the masses for his political goals.

Calls for dialogue continued by officials in the coordination framework, but their supporters called for a demonstration on Monday.

Security forces deployed in Baghdad and set up checkpoints in the city, after a message calling for a demonstration was circulated at five in the afternoon on social media.

The demonstration is supposed to take place on a street that leads to one of the entrances to the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, where government offices, Western embassies, and parliament are located.

According to instructions circulated on social media by supporters of the coordination framework, it is forbidden to "enter the Green Zone."

The instructions affirm that the protests are "not directed against a person or group" and "aimed at defending the state, its legitimacy and its institutions."

The Coordination Framework brings together, in addition to the State of Law, which is led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and is the most prominent opponent of the Sadrist movement, and the Popular Mobilization factions, which are Shiite armed factions that have been merged with the regular forces.

A source in al-Maliki's office confirmed on Monday the validity of the calls to demonstrate and the instructions circulated in this regard.

In the meantime, a prominent source in the Sadrist movement said that the supporters of the movement will go out to protest at five in the evening in all governorates of the country.

In Parliament, the momentum of the Sadrist movement's sit-in has not changed for days.

Pictures of Muqtada al-Sadr and Husseini slogans still fill the corridors of the Iraqi parliament.

On the parliament's ground floor, a group of young men pray or chant slogans in support of Muqtada al-Sadr such as "We are the soldiers of Ibn al-Sayyid."

At the entrance to Parliament, organizers search entrants.

Outside, hundreds of people are also sleeping in tents that have filled Parliament's lawn.

The distribution of food, water and fruits is continuous.

In the great hall for voting, protesters sit on the seats of the deputies, and others on the chair of the Speaker.

"The demands are to eliminate the corrupt government. We don't want to rotate the same faces," Daher al-Atabi, one of the protesters from Parliament, told AFP. "Since 2003 until today ... no services, no health, no education."

Sadr's supporters see their leader as a symbol of the opposition and the fight against corruption, noting that his movement has many officials in important positions in the ministries.

Al-Sadr called on Sunday to continue the protest, considering this a "great opportunity for a radical change of the political system," which the coordination framework considered a call for "a coup against the people, the state and its institutions."

For his part, Hadi al-Amiri, who leads one of the popular mobilization factions, went to the coordination framework and the Sadrist movement, renewed the call for "serious and constructive dialogue, to find solutions to the points of differences between them."

And he warned against "the atmosphere of media escalation through statements and counter-statements that call for mass mobilization, and may get out of control and lead to violence."

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