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An influential Shiite cleric announced Monday he would resign from Iraqi politics, prompting hundreds of his angry followers to storm the government palace and sparking violent clashes with security forces in which at least three protesters were killed.
Medical officials said at least 15 protesters were wounded by gunfire and a dozen more were injured by tear gas and physical altercations with riot police in the protests that followed the announcement by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Iraq’s military announced a nation-wide curfew and the caretaker premier suspended Cabinet sessions in response to the violence.
Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since al-Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government. His refusal to negotiate with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals and subsequent exit from the talks has catapulted the country into political uncertainty and volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.
To further his political interests al-Sadr has wrapped his rhetoric with a nationalist and reform agenda that resonates powerfully among his broad grassroots base who hail from Iraq’s poorest sectors of society and have historically been shut out from the political system. They are calling for the dissolution of parliament and early elections without the participation of Iran-backed groups, which they see as responsible for the status quo.
During Monday’s violence, hundreds of protesters pulled down the cement barriers outside the government palace with ropes and breached the palace gates. Many rushed into the lavish salons and marbled halls of the palace, a key meeting place for Iraqi heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
An Associated Press photographer heard gunshots being fired and saw several protesters bleeding and being carried away.
