12 dead in Baghdad... the streets are empty with the curfew in effect

Today, Monday, 12 people were killed in the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and dozens were wounded, amid a state of chaos after Muqtada al-Sadr's supporters stormed the government palace in protest against his announcement to retire from politics, and the Iraqi authorities subsequently imposed a curfew throughout Iraq.

It seemed that the curfew was applied in central Baghdad in the evening, as the roads were empty of pedestrians and vehicles, but the unrest spread to other areas, in the provinces of Dhi Qar and Babil.

AFP correspondents reported shooting with live ammunition at the entrances to the heavily guarded Green Zone, which houses government offices and embassies.

Medical sources told AFP that 12 supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr were killed and 270 other demonstrators were wounded, and witnesses told AFP of an exchange of fire between supporters of the Sadrist movement and their opponents in the "coordinating framework."

The Iraqi army announced the imposition of a curfew in Baghdad from three thirty in the afternoon, and then throughout Iraq at seven in the evening, and police patrols took place in the capital, while the government suspended its sessions until further notice.

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