Muqtada al-Sadr’s followers entered the Republican Palace in Baghdad, a meeting place for Iraq’s heads of state and foreign officials and the seat of the country’s interim government. In July they stormed the parliament building twice to prevent Sadr’s opponents from forming a government. Iraq’s military announced a city-wide curfew for civilians and vehicles on Monday to quell rising tensions and the possibility of clashes. Protesters used ropes to tear down concrete barriers leading to the palace gates, then filled lavish palace waiting rooms and chanted slogans in support of the cleric, who earlier announced his “final” retirement from politics. In a tweet, Sadr said he was retiring from politics and ordered the closure of his party’s offices. It is not the first time he has announced his departure, but many fear it could cause further turmoil. The cleric’s supporters filled lavish palace waiting rooms and chanted slogans. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images Sadr’s statement on Monday was a reaction to the departure of Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Qadim al-Khairi, who counts many of Sadr’s supporters as followers. The day before, Khaeri announced he would step down as a religious authority and called on his followers to support Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rather than the Shiite spiritual center in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf. The move was a blow to Sadr. In his statement he said that Haeri’s resignation “was not of his own volition”. Followers of a powerful Shiite cleric stormed Iraq’s government palace – video Sadr won the largest share of seats in the October 2021 elections, but failed to form a majority government, leading to one of Iraq’s worst political crises in years. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. His bloc later resigned from parliament and his supporters stormed the parliament building in Baghdad last month. Sadr called for the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections. Iraq’s military called on protesters to withdraw immediately from the Green Zone in Baghdad and exercise restraint “to prevent clashes or the shedding of Iraqi blood,” according to a statement. “Security forces reaffirm their responsibility to protect government institutions, international missions, public and private property.”
