Iraqi leaders and international officials have commended cleric Moqtada Al Sadr's calls to his supporters to withdraw from the streets and put an end to the deadly clashes that have paralysed Iraq.
Hundreds of Mr Al Sadr’s supporters stormed the Republican Palace on Monday, where they traded heavy fire with security forces in an escalation of a months-long political crisis gripping the nation.
At least 30 people were killed overnight in clashes and dozens more injured, according to health authorities.
The unrest began after Mr Al Sadr said he would quit politics, although he has never been directly in government but has been a key player in the country's political scene.
He made the announcement two days after he said “all parties” including his own should give up government positions to help resolve the political crisis.
His followers immediately stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which is the home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies.
“I apologise to the Iraqi people, the only ones affected by the events,” Mr Al Sadr told reporters from his base in the central Iraqi city of Najaf.
“The spilling of Iraqi blood is forbidden. This is not a peaceful uprising (any more) because it has lost its peaceful character.”
The cleric and political leader gave his followers 60 minutes to leave the area and dismantle the sit-in tents in the capital, threatening to “disavow” those who remained.
Mr Al Sadr said he was disappointed and “saddened” by what had happened to the country.
Shortly after his speech, Sadrists started leaving the Green Zone and traffic starting to flow into streets that were blocked overnight, as security forces announced they were lifting the curfew that was imposed yesterday across the country.
“His Eminence Moqtada Al Sadr’s call to stop violence is the epitome of patriotism and respect to the sanctity of Iraqi blood,” said Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi.
“His speech places national and moral duty upon all to protect Iraq and stop political escalation and violence and to immediately engage in dialogue,” he said.
The UN office in Iraq welcomed Mr Al Sadr’s “moderate declaration”.
“As stated yesterday: restraint and calm are necessary for reason to prevail,” it said in a statement.
Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi, said Mr Al Sadr’s stance was good for Iraq.
“Your position is as big as Iraq, which deserves a lot from us,” he wrote on Twitter.
Former prime minister Haider Al Abadi also called on all armed men to withdraw from the capital immediately.
“There is no justification for the state to stand helpless and watch, especially after the speech of Moqtada Al Sadr to withdraw those who claim to belong to the movement, and this is calculated for his eminence,” Mr Al Abadi said.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, spoke with Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fouad Hussein on Monday and discussed relations between the two countries as well as developments in Iraq.
During the phone call, Sheikh Abdullah stressed the UAE's solidarity with Iraq in light of the challenges it is currently facing.
He also emphasised the UAE's support for Iraq's security, stability, unity and sovereignty and his hopes that its people would enjoy prosperity.
Sheikh Abdullah spoke on the well-established relationship between the UAE and Iraq, and the keenness to strengthen ties between them.
He also said the UAE hopes to develop opportunities for joint co-operation in various ways to the benefit of both peoples.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
