Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Kuwait, UAE Advise Against Travel to Iraq

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand in front of security forces near the office of prime minister, Baghdad, Iraq, 29 August 2022. (EPA)

Kuwait has urged its citizens in neighboring Iraq to leave the country.

The state-run KUNA news agency also encouraged those hoping to travel to Iraq to delay their plans over the eruption of violent street clashes between rival Shiite groups in the country.

The Gulf sheikhdom of Kuwait shares a 254 kilometer (158 mile)-long border with Iraq.

Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates stopped flights to Baghdad on Tuesday over the ongoing unrest in Iraq.

The carrier said that it was “monitoring the situation closely.”

It did not say whether flights would resume for Wednesday.

Fighting erupted in Iraq on Monday after influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced he was quitting political life.

The death toll rose to 22 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest erupted the previous day, according to two medical officials.

Iraq's military said four rockets were launched into the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government where armed clashes raged overnight between a militia royal to Sadr and Iraqi security forces.

Sadr's sudden resignation has catapulted Iraq into violence and chaos with no clear path out.

To avenge the killing of unarmed loyalists, Sadr's militia Saraya Salam clashed with Iraqi security forces in the Green Zone using an array of weapons, including mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, two security officials said.

The militia also took over some headquarters belonging to rival Iran-backed militia groups in the southern provinces overnight.

Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since 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 in the Coordination Framework and subsequent exit from the talks has catapulted the country into political uncertainty and volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.