Twelve people were killed in the Green Zone of Baghdad in the midst of chaos after a new outburst by Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, who announced his “final withdrawal” from politics in Iraq, now under curfew.
Iraq, in a political stalemate since the October 2021 legislative elections, continues to sink into crisis. This Monday, the situation brutally degenerated in the capital and hundreds of supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr invaded the Palace of the Republic where the Council of Ministers sits.
While the Sadrists took over the offices, settling into armchairs, jumping into the swimming pool or taking selfies, the police tried to disperse other demonstrators with tear gas canisters at the entrances to the “green zone”. , which houses the headquarters of the institutions and the American embassy, said a security source to AFP.
►Also read: Iraq: Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr announces his “final withdrawal” from politics
Twelve supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr were killed and 270 others injured, medical sources told AFP, without giving further details on the circumstances. Witnesses reported exchanges of fire between Sadrists and supporters of the Coordination Framework, a pro-Iran rival of the Moqtada al-Sadr camp at the entrances to the “green zone”.
The army decreed a national curfew which came into effect at 4:00 p.m. GMT, and the security forces crisscrossed the capital.
Tensions in Basra
In Basra, the tension finally spread to the city. This afternoon, however, this Shiite bastion, located 500 kilometers from Baghdad, continued to live normally. In the street, the processions held were religious: they marked the month of Muharram in the Muslim calendar, a month of mourning for the Shiites, report our special envoys, Guilhem Delteil and Bertrand Haeckler.
But at the end of the day, as the sun began to set, groups of men took over many crossroads and began to burn tires, preventing motorists from passing. The protesters met by RFI said they were not affiliated with a political party. But it was indeed Moqtada al-Sadr’s claims that they were taking up. They denounced the corruption of the leaders and called for the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections. Precisely what the religious leader has been asking for for a month.
For several hours, the police did not intervene. But tonight, bursts of gunfire were heard. And a sign of the concern of the inhabitants: long lines quickly formed in front of the service stations.