Supporters of Iraq’s al-Sadr told to withdraw from parliament

Supporters of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr gather outside the parliament building in Baghdad, Iraq on August 1, 2022 [Wissam Al-Okaili/Reuters]

Supporters of influential Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who have camped inside Iraqi’s parliament since Saturday, have been instructed to leave the building but to continue their protests outside the parliamentary offices.

In a tweet, Mohamed Saleh al-Iraqi, a senior pro-Sadr loyalist, told hundreds of supporters to leave the parliament building in the capital, Baghdad, within 72 hours and join fellow Sadrists at an “encampment in front of and around the building”.