Politics

UN mission in Iraq calls on protesters to leave Baghdad’s Green Zone

"All parties have a moral imperative to prevent violence and bloodshed," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN envoy for Iraq, tweeted.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/08/29 17:20

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr protest in the capital Baghdad's Green Zone, on August 29, 2022. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

Iraq Iraq Sadrist Movement Green Zone UNAMI Protest

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) on Monday called on all protesters to immediately leave Baghdad's Green Zone and vacate all government buildings after supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr stormed government institutions following his resignation from politics.

UNAMI called on the protesters to leave government buildings "and to allow the government to continue its responsibilities of running the State in service of the Iraqi people."

All parties have a moral imperative to prevent violence and bloodshed. pic.twitter.com/6Rnj1hs0cp
— Jeanine Hennis (@JeanineHennis) August 29, 2022

"All parties have a moral imperative to prevent violence and bloodshed," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, tweeted.

“Today's developments are an extremely dangerous escalation. State institutions must operate unimpeded in service of the Iraqi people, under all circumstances and at all times. Respect for constitutional order will now prove vital,” UNAMI said in a statement.

Moreover, UNAMI called on all protesters to remain “peaceful, cooperate with security forces and refrain from acts that could lead to an unstoppable chain of events.”

The UN also called on “all (political) actors to work towards de-escalating tensions and resort to dialogue as the only means to resolve differences. Iraqis cannot be held hostage to an unpredictable and untenable situation. The very survival of the State is at stake.”

Sadr’s decision to quit politics came after Kadhim Hairi, a cleric of the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, called on his followers to start following Iran’s Ali Khamenei.

Earlier Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi suspended the Council of Ministers' sessions "until further notice" after one of the government palaces was occupied by the demonstrators.

Moreover, he asked Moqtada Al-Sadr to call on his supporters to withdraw from government institutions.