Heavy Fighting In Baghdad As Powerful Cleric Calls For His Supports To Back Down

In a televised speech, Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to leave the capital’s government quarter, and minutes later some could be seen abandoning their positions on live television.

The unrest began Monday when al-Sadr announced he would resign from politics and his supporters stormed the Green Zone. At least 30 people have been killed, officials said.

Al-Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government. This unleashed months of infighting between different Shiite factions.

Supporters of al-Sadr fired machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at security forces inside the heavily-fortified area, and armored tanks stood on the other side of the barriers.

At least 30 people have been killed and 400 wounded in clashes between al-Sadr’s forces and government forces, medical officials said.

Iraq’s majority Shiite Muslim population was oppressed under Saddam Hussein, but the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled him reversed the political order. Now, the Shiites are fighting among themselves, with Iranian-backed Shiites and Iraqi-nationalist Shiites jockeying for power, influence and state resources.

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