Falcon29
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Supporters storm gov’t HQ after Sadr ‘withdraws’ from politics
Muqtada al-Sadr’s ‘final withdrawal’ from politics announcement spurred followers to violently force their way into Baghdad’s presidential palace.
Iraq’s powerful Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced he is quitting political life for good and closing his political offices in a move that could further inflame tensions in the country.
The statement, published on Twitter on Monday, comes amid months of protests by his supporters backing his call for the dissolution of the Iraqi parliament, which has seen 10 months of deadlock – representing the longest Iraq has gone without a government – and for new elections to be held.
“I hereby announce my final withdrawal,” al-Sadr said.
He added “all the institutions” linked to his Sadrist movement will be closed, except the mausoleum of his father, assassinated in 1999, and other heritage facilities.
The announcement was quickly met with escalation from al-Sadr’s supporters, who stormed the Republican Palace, a ceremonial building inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone of government buildings that houses the office of the prime minister.
Hundreds pulled down the cement barriers outside the Republican Palace with ropes and breached the palace gates. Many rushed into its lavish salons and marbled halls, a key meeting place for Iraqi heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Supporters, who have gathered at a sit-in since the end of July near the Iraqi parliament, also approached a counter-protest held by al-Sadr’s Shia rivals, leading to fears of an outbreak of violence between the two groups.
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Iraq chaos as al-Sadr supporters storm Green Zone after he quits
Muqtada al-Sadr’s ‘final withdrawal’ from politics leads his followers to violently enter the presidential palace.
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Iran and pro-Iran Iraqi militias threatened to kill him. Let's see where this heads.
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