BAGHDAD: Thirty supporters of Moqtada Sadr have been shot dead in nearly 24 hours of fighting between rival Iraqi forces that has since died down, according to the latest toll from medics.
At least 570 others were injured in the violence that erupted in Baghdad’s Green Zone, pitting Sadr loyalists against factions. Fighting ended on Tuesday after Sadr ordered his supporters to withdraw.
The violence that erupted on Monday pitted Sadr loyalists against factions with the sides exchanging gunfire across barricades — violence the United Nations warned risked tipping the war-ravaged country deeper into chaos.
Moments after Sadr’s speech was broadcast live on television, his supporters were seen beginning to leave the Green Zone, and minutes after that, the army lifted a nation-wide curfew.
Sadr, a grey-bearded preacher with millions of devoted followers, gave followers “60 minutes” to withdraw after which he would threaten to “disavow” those who remained.
“I apologise to the Iraqi people, the only ones affected by the events,” Sadr said in a speech from his base in the central city of Najaf.
“Shame on this revolution... Regardless of who was the initiator, this revolution, as long as it is marred by violence, is not a revolution,” he said.
“I thank the security forces and members of Hashed al Shaabi,” he added.
Tensions have soared in Iraq amid a political crisis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or president for months.
They escalated sharply after Sadr’s supporters on Monday afternoon stormed the government palace inside the high-security Green Zone following their leader’s announcement that he was quitting politics.
Overnight, shelling targeted the Green Zone that houses government buildings and diplomatic missions, amid angry protests after Sadr surprised many by announcing his “definitive retirement”.
Violence continued on Tuesday morning — with the rattle of automatic gunfire and heavier explosions of rocket-propelled grenades — as Sadr’s supporters clashed with the army and men of the Hashed al Shaabi, former paramilitaries integrated into the Iraqi security forces.
The UN mission in Iraq warned of “an extremely dangerous escalation” and called on all sides to “refrain from acts that could lead to an unstoppable chain of events”.
“The very survival of the state is at stake,” it warned.
On Tuesday morning, medics said 23 Sadr supporters had been killed and some 380 others wounded — some with bullet wounds and others suffering tear gas inhalation.
A mass funeral was held on Tuesday in the holy city of Najaf for some of the protesters killed in Baghdad. Witnesses said earlier that Sadr loyalists and supporters of a bloc, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, had exchanged fire. The Framework condemned an “attack on state institutions”, urging the Sadrists to engage in dialogue. — AFP
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