IRAQ: CURFEW IMPOSED IN BAGHDAD AFTER AL-SADR SUPPORTERS STORM REPUBLICAN PALACE

M0n 29 August 2022:

The Republican Palace, a ceremonial structure inside Baghdad’s protected Green Zone of government buildings, was stormed by dozens of Muqtada al-Sadr supporters on Monday, according to a security source.

A source claimed that shortly after al-Sadr announced his political retirement, angry protestors “entered the Republican Palace,” with thousands of additional al-Sadr supporters moving in the direction of the Green Zone, according to an AFP correspondent.

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.

The army, meanwhile, announced a Baghdad-wide curfew that went into effect at 3:30pm (12:30 GMT).

“The security forces affirm their responsibility to protect government institutions, international missions, public and private properties,” a military statement said.

In his statement, al-Sadr attacked his political opponents and said they had not listened to his calls for reform.

Al-Sadr has withdrawn from politics or government in the past and also disbanded militias loyal to him. But he retains widespread influence over state institutions and controls a paramilitary group with thousands of members.

His bloc emerged from last year’s election as the biggest, with 73 seats, but short of a majority. In June, his lawmakers quit in a bid to break the logjam, which led to a rival Shia bloc, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, becoming the largest in the legislature.

Since then, al-Sadr has engaged in other pressure tactics, including a mass prayer by tens of thousands of his followers on August 5.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent