Alwaght- Iraqi government lifted on Tuesday a nation-wide curfew after powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to withdraw from the streets, after a day of deadly clashes in the capital, Baghdad.
Sadr told his followers to leave their protests in central Baghdad and apologized to the Iraqi people after nearly two days of violent clashes, which reportedly killed 20 people.
“It saddens me a lot what happens in Iraq; I apologize to the Iraqi people, the only ones affected by the events,” Sadr told reporters. “We had hoped that there would be peaceful protests, not weapons.” Mr Sadr said in a televised address. “The spilling of Iraqi blood is forbidden,” he said.
The leader of the Sadrist movement said, “I am now criticizing the Sadrist movement’s revolution as I criticized the October revolution when it was marred by violence,” adding, “Change your minds and withdraw completely, even from the sit-in.”
Iraqi media reports said Sadr’s supporters, carrying guns and driving vehicles, began withdrawing from Baghdad’s Green Zone after the Shia cleric called on them to stand down.
Following the move, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said it had decided to lift the curfew in Baghdad and other provinces.
