The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed commentary upon the most significant issues and trends in the MENA region. Today we focus on Iraq, where a new wave of violence between conflicting Shia factions has erupted within the capital and across the country. In the midst of a deepening political crisis, clashes have followed Muqtada al-Sadr’s announcement of his retirement from the Iraqi political scene.
The long existing power struggle between Iraq’s rival Shia factions recently turned into bloody street violence. On August the 29th, in yet another of his unpredictable manoeuvres, the influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics. The announcement came shortly after Grand Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, the spiritual leader of the Sadrist Movement, announced his resignation from his clerical role and urged adherents to support Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. This proved a hard blow to al-Sadr’s leadership, as he was overtly delegitimized as a true heir to his family’s legacy. Within hours, thousands of the cleric’s loyalists had stormed into Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green zone, occupying key government buildings. For 24 hours, the capital witnessed violent intra-Shia confrontations between al-Sadr’s supporters, Iraqi security forces and numerous armed groups loyal to the Coordination Framework (a pro-Iran set of Iraqi political parties). The violence ended as quickly as it had started when, upon the following day, al-Sadr ordered his followers to clear the Green Zone, by this time the victim toll had surpassed 30 deaths and hundreds of injured. Top Iraqi officials lauded his apparent effort to de-escalate tensions, as many now feared the country was back upon a path towards civil war. An anxious region now looks on concerned at Iraq’s latest peak of political instability. Iran has temporarily closed its borders with the neighbouring country, urging dialogue amongst the disagreeing Shia factions. Still, the threat of further violent clashes looms within the country. Tensions between al-Sadr and his opponents have not been resolved, and, most importantly, a solution to the political deadlock that has now lasted for over ten months is not within sight.
Experts from the ISPI MED network analyze the ongoing political crisis in Iraq and what led to the fighting in the capital Baghdad.
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