Moqtada Al-Sadr orders followers to withdraw from Green Zone, stop fighting
He "apologized" to the Iraqi people with regard to the latest bloody chaos the country had faced.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr on Tuesday called on his supporters to fully withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone and stop fighting, ending the 24-hour instability the country had witnessed.
In a presser in Najaf, Al-Sadr ordered his followers to vacate the zone in an hour and end the bloody fight that ensued after he had announced his resignation on Monday.
"I call on the demonstrators from the Sadrist Movement to withdraw from Parliament within one hour," he said, adding those who refuse to do so will be disowned.
He "apologized" to the Iraqi people with regard to the latest bloody chaos the country had faced.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi welcomed Al-Sadr's decision, describing it as the "highest levels of patriotism".
The Joint Operations Command lifted the total curfew it had imposed the day earlier across the country to contain violence in the country.
#EXCLUSIVE Followers of the prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr are withdrawing from Baghdad's Green Zone after their leader's order to do so within an hour. pic.twitter.com/K6UXbVlREA
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) August 30, 2022
Al-Sadr had gone on a hunger strike in protest of the violence and use of weapons during the protests since Monday night, a top leader from the movement said.
At least 15 people have been killed as a result of the clashes since yesterday, medics told AP.
Western and Kurdish leaders have called for "restraint" and holding dialogue to end the bloody conflict.