A sudden statement by a religious leader ignites the situation in #Iraq #usa #ukrain #cnn

The statement issued by the Iraqi religious authority, Kazem Al-Haeri, caused rapid developments in the Green Zone, in the center of the capital, Baghdad, after hundreds of Sadrist supporters stormed the presidential palace and several buildings and other facilities.

And the Iraqi circles were surprised, at dawn on Monday, by a statement attributed to the cleric Kazem Al-Hairi, who is the heir of the religious authority, Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq Al-Sadr, Muqtada’s father, in which he talked about his retirement from religious work and the closure of all his institutions, while instructing his followers to imitate the Iranian guide Ali Khamenei. .
Retire and escalate

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, quickly responded to Al-Hairi's statement, saying: "I have never claimed infallibility, ijtihad, or even leadership, and I only wanted to correct the distortion, the main cause of which was the Shiite political forces as the majority."

    Al-Sadr doubted that Al-Haeri’s retirement was of his own free will, in reference to Iran’s interference in the case, with the aim of isolating Al-Sadr’s reference from the political arena in Iraq and strengthening the role of its references in general.
    Al-Sadr said he had decided not to interfere in political affairs and announced his final retirement.
    A general opinion prevailed among Sadr's followers that Tehran sought a "religious coup", with the aim of delegitimizing al-Sadr, by coaxing al-Hairi, who obliged his followers to follow Khamenei, to which al-Sadr responded with a major escalation in the street.
    Al-Sadr's supporters and the movement's special leaders understood that the statement was a green light to move towards a more comprehensive escalation, which is what actually happened.
    Sadr's supporters stormed the Republican Palace in the Green Zone and the Government Palace before withdrawing from them.
    After al-Hairi's statement, the Secretary-General of the Nujaba Movement, cleric Akram al-Kaabi, who is also an armed faction leader, declared his commitment to al-Haeri's instructions.


 What happened next?

After this debate between Al-Sadr and Al-Haeri, Al-Sadr announced his retirement from political work and closed his official pages, after which the masses of the Sadrist masses went towards the Peace Palace and the Government Palace, and stormed it, while demonstrators in several governorates entered the official buildings and offices of the governorate.

According to field sources, about 15 people were killed, and more than 95 others were injured, in addition to the injury of about 12 media cadres, in the capital, Baghdad, to withdraw those crowds later to its headquarters in the parliament building.

Dozens of vehicles of Sadr's Peace Brigades forces were seen entering the Green Zone on Monday evening.

 Expedited Actions

    Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi holds a series of meetings with security leaders to study the situation.

    Urgent calls for dialogue and an end to the crisis from the United Nations and the US Embassy in Baghdad.

    The storming of official buildings in the governorates of Wasit, Maysan, Basra and Babil by al-Sadr's supporters.

    The demonstrators withdrew from the presidential palace in Baghdad, as well as the government palace, towards the parliament building.

    The extension party emanating from the October protests calls for a national salvation government headed by a military.


 The coordination framework calls for calm

    In the first response to the latest developments, the Coordination Framework Forces said that they stand with the state.
    The forces of the coordination framework demanded the Sadrist movement to return to the dialogue table.
    The framework forces called on the government and security institutions to do their duty to protect state institutions and public and private interests.
    A statement issued by the framework forces called on all religious, political and social actors to intervene and take the initiative to stave off sedition, prevail the language of reason and dialogue, and spare the country further chaos and bloodshed.
    He also called for holding responsible all those who contribute to the tense atmosphere and pushing towards escalation, and to develop practical and realistic solutions that adopt the constitution, law and the language of dialogue as the basis for reaching decisive and quick results to stop the suffering of the people.
    The framework forces demanded the leaders and masses of the Sadrist movement to return to the dialogue table and work to reach common understandings that lay down a clear road map that adopts the law and the constitution to achieve the interests of the people.


 Prospects for ending the crisis

The expert on Iraqi affairs, Ghaleb Al-Daami, said, in a statement to "Sky News Arabia", that "the crisis has expanded now, and there are victims, and mass crowds continuously join the green camp, and a large movement in the provinces, amid fear that the situation will be tomorrow ( Today (Tuesday) is more dangerous than today (Monday)."

Al-Damamy added that the situation in Iraq "is currently unpredictable, after 12 martyrs were killed, more than 100 were wounded, and after shootings at the demonstrators, especially since the confirmed information that the bullets were fired by trampled parties whose interests intersect with the Sadrist movement."