In the “green zone” of the Iraqi capital, where government and diplomatic buildings are located, four rockets fell. Clashes are taking place in the city between supporters of Shiite groups, as a result of which more than 20 people have already died
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Four rockets fell in Baghdad on the territory of the protected “green zone” cities where government and diplomatic offices are located, according to Al Hadath and Reuters. Rockets damaged residential buildings, no information has yet been received about the victims.
Sounds of artillery and rocket attacks were heard in the city at night, armed people drove around the streets, according to Al Arabia.
In October last year, parliamentary elections were held in Iraq, after which a new prime minister was supposed to be approved in the country, but this has not happened so far. The majority in parliament was received by supporters of the Shiite preacher and politician Muqtada al-Sadr— “Sadrist Movement”.
Al-Sadr positions himself as a nationalist who opposes any foreign interference, whether it be from the United States and the West or from Iran, Al Arabia explains. However, after the elections, the Sadrists were unable to form a government due to disagreements with other parties. So far, the government is headed by Mustafa Al-Kazimi, who was appointed in 2020.
Now the Sadrists are against the nomination of a rival al-Sadr to the post of prime minister of the country— Muhammad al-Sudani. It represents the “Coordination structure” block. This political alliance of Shiite parties, like al-Sudani himself, is considered by the protesters to be proteges of neighboring Iran. Negotiations on the formation of the cabinet stalled due to the intransigence of the parties, at the end of July the situation in the country escalated: the protesters even broke into the parliament building, but dispersed when al-Sadr urged them to do so on Twitter.
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According to the Al Arabiya TV channel, after the protesters left the parliament, law enforcement agencies began to block the “green zone” Baghdad. The source of the channel explained that this was due to the arrival in Baghdad of the commander of the Quds detachment; Ismail Qaani's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This detachment is considered the elite military-political formation of Iran and is responsible for carrying out operations outside its borders.
The situation in the city escalated the day before, on Monday, August 29, when al-Sadr announced that he is resigning because the political situation is not being resolved. His supporters broke into the Republican Palace in the Green Zone. Baghdad, where the headquarters of the government sits, because of which the Council of Ministers announced the suspension of work, and a curfew was introduced in the Iraqi capital.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi appealed to al-Sadr with a demand to call on supporters leave government buildings and the green zone.
As a result of clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies, at least 15 people were killed and another 350 were injured. Later, the death toll in the clashes rose to 23, Al Hadath reported.
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