Members of Sadr’s Peace Brigades fighters gather during clashes with the Iraqi security forces near the Green Zone, in Baghdad
(Picture: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani)Violent clashes between Iraqi security forces and the followers of a powerful Shia cleric have left at least 30 people dead in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
An Iraqi medical source has told Al Jazeera that at least 30 people were killed during the clashes which saw rocket propelled grenades launched into the heavily fortified centre of the capital that served as the headquarters of successive Iraqi regimes.
The source added 700 people were wounded, including 110 members of the security forces.
Clashes on Monday jolted Iraq into new violence as supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a former anti-US insurgency leader, faced off with armed groups mostly loyal to Iran.
A prolonged political deadlock after an October election, during which the two camps have competed for power, has given the country its longest run without a government and led to new unrest as Iraq struggles to recover from decades of conflict.
Live television footage showed the chaos, with at least one wounded man being taken away in a three-wheel rickshaw, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry visible behind them.
Al-Sadr’s sudden resignation has catapulted Iraq into violence and chaos with no clear path out. The cleric derives power from his ability to mobilize and control his large grassroots following, but with his stated exit from politics, he has implicitly given them the freedom to act as they see fit.
Sadr has positioned himself as a nationalist who opposes all foreign interference, whether from the United States and the West or from Iran. He commands a thousands-strong militia and has millions of loyal supporters across the country.
It came as Dubai’s Emirates airline cancelled all flights to and from Baghdad for Tuesday.
The airline cited “reports of civil unrest and curfews” in Iraq for the cancellation and said it was monitoring the situation closely.
