At least 23 supporters of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr have been killed since Monday in Baghdad, Iraq, in clashes that resumed on Tuesday, according to a new report from a medical source.
The previous balance pointed to 15 dead. At least 380 people were injured in the violence in the so-called Green Zone, a perimeter considered ultra-secure, the France-Presse news agency (AFP) reported.
Protests in Iraq. Fighting in Baghdad leaves 15 dead and dozens wounded
After a quiet night, fighting resumed this morning between supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, on the one hand, and the army and men of Hashd al-Shaabi, former pro-Iranian paramilitaries integrated into the regular forces, on the other.
Automatic weapons and rocket fire echoed through Baghdad from the Green Zone, AFP reported.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “containment” in Iraq and urged all parties to “take immediate action to defuse the situationaccording to a statement from his spokesman.
Guterres “follows with concern the demonstrations taking place today in Iraq, during which demonstrators invaded government buildings,” said Stéphane Dujarric.
“[O secretário-geral] calls for calm and restraint and asks all actors involved to take immediate steps to defuse the situation and prevent violence. (…) It calls on all parties and all actors to overcome their differences and carry out, without delay, a peaceful and inclusive dialogue”, he added.
Al-Sadr demanded the exclusion from the political scene of all the parties that have been operating in Iraq since 2003, as a condition to overcome the crisis that has been going on since the October elections.
Iraq: Al Sadr proposes the exclusion of all parties to overcome the crisis
The influential cleric began a hunger strike on Monday.until the violence endsin Iraq, revealed one of its spokesmen.
Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi revealed on Tuesday that he will order an investigation into the shooting and said the use of live ammunition against protesters is prohibited.
The situation in Baghdad’s Green Zone remains chaotic, despite the enactment of a curfew effective Monday.
Since elections in October last year, Iraq has been without a government and without a new president, after al-Sadr’s party won, but with only 73 seats out of 329 in parliament.
Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announces “definitive withdrawal” from the Iraqi political scene
Al-Sadr’s party tried to ally with other parliamentary forces to elect the President and the Prime Minister, who would be in charge of forming a government, which turned out not to be possible, due to the blockade of Shiite opponents, close to the Iranian regime. .
Sadrist MPs resigned en bloc in June, but, before the election of an opposition-nominated president and prime minister, al-Sadr’s supporters occupied parliament on July 30.
Hundreds of protesters again stormed the Iraqi parliament
The occupation lasted a week and, after an appeal from the cleric, the Sadrists withdrew from parliament and camped in front of the building, demanding the dissolution of the House and new elections.
Source: Observadora
