The death toll in the unrest in Iraq has risen to at least 22. This was announced by two representatives of the health authorities on Tuesday to the AP news agency. According to the Iraqi military, four rockets were also fired into the so-called Green Zone in central Baghdad, where armed supporters of the influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been fighting Iraqi security forces and militias since Monday and throughout the night.
Many demonstrators were injured by gunshots, the use of tear gas and physical violence. Security forces pushed people back after hundreds of al-Sadr supporters stormed the government palace in the Iraqi capital. The AP news agency watched as several bleeding protesters were taken away. It was initially unclear who had shot.
Neighboring Iran closed all land borders with Iraq due to the unrest, as reported by local state television on Tuesday. Iranians have been urged to avoid travel to Iraq just ahead of a pilgrimage that millions of Iranians come to Iraq for every year. The airline Emirates canceled all flights to Baghdad for Tuesday.
Before the violence, the Shiite cleric Al-Sadr had announced his withdrawal from Iraqi politics via Twitter. He also ordered the closure of his party’s offices. Al-Sadr has called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.
Al-Sadr’s supporters had initiated a sit-in in front of parliament, paralyzing politics in the country for more than four weeks, in order to reinforce their demand for new elections. Shortly after al-Sadr’s announcement, hundreds of his supporters flocked to the government palace, which houses the main offices of Acting Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi.
The military imposed a curfew that was to apply across Iraq from 7:00 p.m. local time. The government suspended cabinet meetings because of the unrest. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi called on al-Sadr to urge his supporters to stay away from state institutions. He announced an investigation into the deaths. It is forbidden to use live ammunition against demonstrators.
As darkness fell, a militia close to al-Sadr engaged in skirmishes with the so-called People’s Mobilization Units, a coalition of state-sanctioned paramilitary groups. Members of a special unit and members of the Iraqi Army’s 9th Division also got involved to keep the militia fighters at bay. Fighting continued for hours in the Green Zone in central Baghdad. At least one soldier from the special unit was killed, two security officials said. Many other people, including a civilian, were injured. The din of machine gun fire echoed through central Baghdad, and mortar shells could be heard.
The UN mission in Iraq (Unami) spoke of an “extremely dangerous escalation” and called on the demonstrators to leave the government district immediately. “The survival of the state is at stake,” the UN mission said.
“The security forces reaffirm their responsibility to protect government institutions, international missions, public and private property,” the statement said. The military declared a city-wide curfew.
Al-Sadr’s statement came in response to the resignation of another cleric and Shia leader, Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri. Al-Sadr’s supporters include many followers of Al-Haeri. The previous day he had declared that he would resign as a religious authority. He had called on his followers to support Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rather than the Shia spiritual center in Najaf, Iraq. This was a setback for al-Sadr, who stated that al-Haeri’s resignation was “not of his own volition.”
Al-Sadr’s movement won the most seats in October’s parliamentary elections but failed to form a government. This was followed by one of the country’s worst political crises in recent years.
Al-Sadr’s bloc later resigned from parliament. At the end of July, his supporters stormed the parliament in Baghdad twice and set up a permanent protest during the second storm. Al-Sadr has called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.