On Monday, August 29, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced he was withdrawing from Iraqi politics in a Twitter post. Almost immediately after the announcement, hundreds of his supporters swarmed the government palace in Baghdad, in the heart of the heavily secured Green Zone. After the crowd was cleared from the perimeter, a curfew was imposed at 2:30pm local time, which the army lifted the following day.
At least 23 civilians were killed on Monday in clashes between security forces and pro-al-Sadr militias in Baghdad's Green Zones. Gunfire broke out after al-Sadr supporters swarmed the government palace.
