The Security Council condemns the violence in Iraq and expresses its concern over the deaths and injuries

The members of the Security Council condemned the violence across Iraq on 29 and 30 August and expressed deep concern over the reported deaths and injuries, noting the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore order.

The members of the Security Council called for calm and restraint, welcomed the parties’ statements calling on all to refrain from further violence, and urged all parties to resolve their political differences peacefully, respect the rule of law, the right to peaceful assembly, and Iraqi institutions, and avoid violence.

The members of the Security Council strongly urged all parties and actors to engage, without further delay, in a peaceful and constructive dialogue to advance reforms and chart a constructive way forward.

Last Tuesday, medical and security sources in Iraq reported that 30 people were killed and about 450 injured as a result of security disturbances and armed clashes inside and around the government's Green Zone, following the control of the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's followers on government headquarters and the sit-in in front of the parliament building.

Subsequently, al-Sadr demanded that his followers withdraw completely from the parliament and cancel the sit-in.

For his part, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, called for an urgent investigation into the events in the Green Zone, the sources of the shooting, and to identify the negligent and hold them accountable according to the law.

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