Thirty people have been killed in fighting in Iraq between rival Shia militias, as well as the Iraqi security forces, after the powerful religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr claimed that he was withdrawing from politics.
Al-Sadr’s announcement on Monday led to his supporters converging on sites in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where they stormed the Republican Palace where the government is based. They also confronted supporters of their rivals, the Iran-backed Coordination Framework alliance, leading to fighting between the two groups.
As night fell, gunfire and explosions were heard across the Green Zone, and the fighting has continued into Tuesday.
However, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, al-Sadr ordered his supporters to fully withdraw from the Green Zone, and end the violence.
Here’s a list of key events so far:
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Al-Sadr announced on Twitter his “final withdrawal” from politics and the closure of all political institutions linked to his Sadrist Movement. Al-Sadr has made similar statements before, only to walk them back, but analysts have said that his latest announcement may be a bluff or a way to distance himself from any violence.
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Supporters of al-Sadr, who had been based at a sit-in outside the parliament since late July, pulled down cement barriers outside the Republican Palace and stormed the building.
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Other supporters approached a counterprotest held by al-Sadr’s Shia rivals, the Iran-backed Coordination Framework alliance, where both sides threw rocks at each other.
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Protesters also blocked the entrance to the Umm Qasr port, near the southern city Basra, bringing operations down by 50 percent, according to Reuters.
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In response to the growing violence, the Iraqi military announced a full curfew in Baghdad, beginning at 3:30pm local time (12:30 GMT). A nationwide curfew was declared at 7pm (16:00 GMT).
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Iraq’s caretaker prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi stopped all cabinet sessions after pro-Sadr protesters stormed the government headquarters.
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Gunfire and explosions began to be heard on Monday evening in the Green Zone, as reports emerged of al-Sadr supporters being fired upon, and fighters from the pro-Sadr militia, Saraya al-Salam, took to the streets.
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Late on Monday al-Sadr declared that he would start a hunger strike until violence and the use of weapons stopped.
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Fighting in Baghdad continued through Monday night and into Tuesday morning. On Tuesday morning Iraqi security forces said that four rockets had landed in the Green Zone, damaging a residential area.
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Iran closed its borders with Iraq on Tuesday morning in response to the fighting, and urged its citizens to avoid travelling there. Iranian state television also said that all flights to Iraq had been halted.
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On Tuesday afternoon al-Sadr ordered his supporters to leave the Green Zone, including their protest sites, and apologised for the violence. “This is not revolutionary [any more] because it has lost its peaceful character,” al-Sadr said. Many of his supporters immediately started to leave.
