After a day of bloody confrontations in the Green Zone

Sadr's supporters withdraw from the street and the army lifts the curfew

The streets of Baghdad became quiet and devoid of protest after the withdrawal of Sadr's supporters yesterday.

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Supporters of the Iraqi leader Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew yesterday from the Green Zone in Baghdad after their leader gave them 60 minutes to stop all protests, denouncing their use of violence after confrontations between them and the security forces and members of the popular crowd, which resulted in the killing of 23 of them within 24 hours.

Immediately after the withdrawal began, the army announced the lifting of the curfew that it had announced, the day before yesterday, in the country.

The confrontations, in which automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades were used, began the day before yesterday, after al-Sadr's supporters took to the streets in anger, after he announced his "permanent" retirement from politics. This was followed by complete chaos that developed into clashes.

Al-Sadr said in a press conference held in Najaf, “If all members of the Sadrist movement do not withdraw within 60 minutes from everywhere, even from the sit-in, I will exonerate them, regardless of who was the initiator yesterday. ».

He added, "I criticize the revolution of the Sadrist movement.

The wretchedness of this revolution.

Regardless of who is the initiator.

This revolution, as long as it is marred by violence, is not a revolution.”

Immediately after his call ended, his supporters began to withdraw from the Green Zone in the capital, which includes official institutions and embassies and is considered a fortified security, and the sound of weapons fell silent.

Clashes took place between Muqtada al-Sadr's "Peace Brigades" on the one hand, and security forces and factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces loyal to Iran that are part of the official Iraqi forces.

During the confrontations in the Green Zone, 23 al-Sadr supporters were shot dead, according to a medical source, and 380 others were wounded.

The coordination framework, the second force in Parliament after the Sadrist movement, which includes representatives of factions in the Popular Mobilization and other parties, including the “State of Law” coalition headed by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, condemned the “attack of various state addresses, including the Judicial Council, the Government Palace and the headquarters of the Council of Ministers.” and others, and disrupting and attacking state institutions,” referring to the storming of these institutions by Sadr’s supporters in various regions.

He affirmed standing "with the state and its institutions," and called on "all religious, political and social actors to intervene and take the initiative in order to stave off sedition, give priority to the language of reason and dialogue, and spare the country more chaos and bloodshed."

He also called the Sadrist movement «to return to the dialogue table and work with their brothers in order to reach common understandings».

Iraq has witnessed a severe political crisis since the 2021 elections, after the leaders of Iraqi politics failed to agree on the name of a new prime minister, and parliament also failed to elect a new president.

Muqtada al-Sadr and the coordinating framework meet that the solution to the crisis lies in organizing new elections.

But al-Sadr wants to dissolve parliament first, while the coordination framework wants to form a government first.

The Sadrist movement led the results of the recent elections to occupy 73 seats (out of the 329 total seats in parliament), but it did not have a majority that would enable it to form a government.

Because of the failure to agree on a government formula, al-Sadr announced in June the resignation of his deputies from parliament.

About a month ago, his supporters had been camping near the parliament, calling for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the holding of early legislative elections in order to move the country on the path of reforms.

Al-Sadr calls for the "reform" of Iraq's situation from the top of the pyramid of power to the bottom, and an end to the "corruption" that the country's institutions suffer from.

Al-Sadr, who enjoys great influence in Iraq, often announces surprising positions, which he sometimes retracts.

He has not stopped escalating in recent weeks;

His supporters camped outside Parliament and briefly closed the outlets to the Supreme Judicial Council.

In response to a question put to him during the press conference yesterday about what will happen next, Al-Sadr refused to respond, saying that he "does not engage in politics."

Al-Sadr's relationship with Iran, which enjoys great influence in Iraq, is cloudy.

He has lived for a long time in Iran, but at the same time he maintains some independence at the internal national level.

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