Al-Sadr announces his permanent retirement from politics as tension escalates

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced his permanent retirement from political work on Monday.

ِThe retirement triggered the followers of al-Sadr to rally outside the presidential palace inside Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Al-Ghadeer News Agency correspondent said that a group of protestors, mainly supporters of the Sadrist movement, cordoned the presidential palace and the security forces deployed water cannons to disperse them.

Multiple sources reported to Al-Ghadeer News that the security authorities closed all the entrances leading to the Green Zone.

“Holders of security clearances are not an exception as things stand,” a source said.

The Joint Operations Command (JOC) urged the protestors in an official statement to withdraw from the Green Zone immediately, laying emphasis on its commitment to “protecting the government departments, international missions, public and private properties.”