Tag: sadr

Iraq protesters disperse after Sadr demands end to deadly clashes

by Guillaume Decamme Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr withdrew Tuesday from Baghdad’s Green Zone after he demanded an end to fighting between rival Shiite forces and the army that left 30 dead and hundreds wounded. The clashes that erupted on Monday pitted Sadr loyalists against Shiite factions backed by neighboring Iran — violence that prompted Iraq’s president to push for early elections and the prime minister to […]

Fighting in Iraqi capital leaves 23 dead after Sadr quits politics

by Guillaume Decamme Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Fighting between rival Iraqi forces raged for a second day Tuesday with rocket fire echoing from Baghdad’s Green Zone where 23 supporters of powerful Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr have been shot dead, medics said. Tensions have soared in Iraq amid a political crisis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or president for months, and escalated sharply after Sadr’s supporters on Monday […]

Shelling targets Baghdad’s Green Zone amid deadly chaos after Sadr quits politics

by Guillaume Decamme Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Shelling targeted Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone Monday, a security source said, after Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr said he was quitting politics, sparking chaos in which 15 of his supporters were killed. Tensions have soared in Iraq amid a political crisis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or president for months, and escalated sharply after Sadr’s supporters stormed the government palace following […]

Iraq’s Sadr demands new polls as political crisis escalates

by Laure Al-Khoury Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Powerful Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, whose bloc won the most seats in Iraq’s elections last year, demanded Wednesday that parliament be dissolved and new national polls be called. Nearly 10 months on from the last elections, the country still has no government, new prime minister or new president, due to repeated squabbles between factions over forming a coalition. In the latest political turmoil to strike the […]

Thousands protest in Iraq to demand ouster of US troops

  by Ammar Karim and Ayman Henna Agence France Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Thousands of supporters of populist Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr gathered in Baghdad on Friday for a rally to demand the ouster of US troops, putting the protest-hit capital on edge. The march rattled the separate, months-old protest movement that has gripped the capital and the Shiite-majority south since October, demanding a government overhaul, early elections and more accountability. In the early […]

Fiery cleric ahead in Iraq election surprise

by Sarah Benhaida Agence France Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — An alliance spearheaded by nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr looked on the course Monday for a surprise triumph at Iraq’s first nationwide election since the defeat of the Islamic State group. In a further political upset, the rival Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former fighters appeared to be coming in second, squeezing internationally favored prime minister Haider al-Abadi into third. The outcome throws open the race to […]