30 killed and over 400 injured in Iraq in the violence perpetrated by Al-Sadr

Baghdad: After violence unleashed by his supporters left 30 dead and over 400 injured, creating chaos in the Iraqi capital, Muqtada Al-Sadr called on his supporters to stop the protests. Earlier, Al-Sadr’s supporters demonstrated their power by infiltrating Iraq’s high-security Green Zone with weapons. In some places, his supporters clashed with Iraqi security forces. But after Al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics, his angry supporters were openly challenging the Iraqi government. Al-Sadr supporters seized Iraqi government buildings, parliament and offices of important institutions. In some of these places, a situation like Sri Lanka has arisen.

The Green Zone of Iraq houses the embassies of other countries, including the United States and the offices of various departments of the Iraqi government. Therefore, this area is the safest in Iraq, with a fortified security system. In such a situation, armed supporters of al-Sadr infiltrated here in large numbers. Armed with rocket-propelled grenades and sophisticated machine guns, Al-Sadr supporters were directly challenging the Iraqi government in the area. There are also claims of heavy firing at some places after the security personnel tried to stop them. So far, 30 people have lost their lives in this violence. The number of injured has exceeded four hundred.

After their leader announced his retirement from politics, it was revealed that his supporters created chaos. On Monday, Al-Sadr created this upheaval in Iraq by announcing his retirement. Elections were held in Iraq last October. The party of Muqtada Al-Sadr, who leads the radical organization of the Shia majority in Iraq, won most seats in the election. Still, this party could not form the government. The political parties in Iraq, supported by Iran, formed a coalition government.

This upset Al-Sadr and his supporters, who are constantly demanding re-election. Al-Sadr is trying to make this demand more effective, accusing Iraq’s current government of dancing to Iran’s tune. For several months, the Iraqi parliament and other important places were invaded and taken over by Al-Sadr supporters. However, seeing that the Iraqi government was not ready to hold new elections, Al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics. As soon as he announced on Monday, there was a commotion in Iraq. Al-Sadr’s supporters demonstrated they had the power to hold the entire country at ransom by playing havoc in the Iraqi capital. Its repercussions are being felt not only in Iraq but also in the Gulf region.

Due to instability in Iraq, Iran has sealed its border with Iraq, taking care to prevent infiltration into its country. Saudi Arabia has appealed to all the political parties of Iraq to come together and find a way out of this problem. The European Union has expressed serious concerns over the situation in Iraq. But Al-Sadr is clearly saying that his struggle with the pro-Iranian government in Iraq will not stop. Al-Sadr’s main demand is that re-election should be held in the country and the government with popular support should come to power in this country. The current government in Iraq is not willing to accept this demand. At the same time, the pro-Iranian political parties and groups, disturbed by Al-Sadr’s show of strength, could further destabilize Iraq through their strength in the coming times. Therefore, the situation in Iraq is not likely to come under control in the near future.