CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2022) Iraq has deployed army units on the streets of Baghdad to reinforce security as riots by supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr continue, media reported on Monday.
Earlier in the day, demonstrators stormed the Republican Palace in Baghdad's green zone, hours after Sadr announced his final retirement from politics and the closure of all party offices amid threats of his physical elimination. Twelve people were reportedly killed and 270 more were injured during clashes between Iraqi security forces and Sadr's followers.
The army arrived to reinforce the security forces present in the city, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported.
At the same time, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi issued a decree banning security forces from opening fire at demonstrators.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, directed that using live bullets and shooting at demonstrators by any security, military, or armed elements is strictly prohibited," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The statement emphasized that "security forces are responsible for protecting the demonstrators and any violation of security instructions will be subject to legal accountability."
Additionally, the official ordered to open an urgent investigation into the events in Baghdad's green zone to find perpetrators and hold them accountable according to the law, the statement added.
The security forces took control of the Republican Palace, where the government's headquarters are located, after they reportedly used tear gas and water cannons against protesters.
The Shafaq news agency reported, citing sources, that Sadr's followers attacked the office of the Iraqi parliament and the entrance to the governor's office in the Karbala Governorate in the south of the country. The source added that demonstrators also erected sit-in tents in front of the Diyala Governorate headquarters northeast of Baghdad.
Protesters will not end their protest unless they receive direct orders from the Central Sit-ins Committee in Baghdad, according to the source.
Meanwhile, a source close to Sadr told the Shafaq news agency that the influential cleric remains in his residence in the Najaf Governorate in southern Iraq and closely observes the events.
Additionally, Sadr announced the start of a hunger strike until the end of violence in Iraq, according to Hassan al-Athari, the head of the resigned Sadrist bloc.
"Sayyed Al-Sadr, has announced a hunger strike, until the violence and the use of weapons stop," al-Athari said on Twitter, as quoted by the Iraqi News Agency.
The Iraqi authorities imposed a nationwide curfew on Monday from 19:00 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT) until further notice.
Iraq has been facing a political deadlock since the parliamentary elections in October 2021. Sadr's political bloc won the elections but reverted to the opposition in May and stepped down in June after several unsuccessful attempts to form a government.
Sadr's supporters resumed protests in Baghdad in late July, breaking into the parliament building and refusing to leave it. The protests were triggered by the nomination of Mohammed Sudani, another representative of Shiite parties in the Iraqi parliament except for Sadr's bloc, for the post of prime minister. Sudani represents the Coordination Framework, an Iran-backed alliance of Shiite forces forming the largest bloc in the Iraqi legislature.
In August, Sadr called on authorities to dissolve parliament and schedule next general elections, however the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq declined the request.
