Iraqi Cleric Tells Loyalists to Leave Streets After Clashes

An influential Iraqi cleric called on his supporters to withdraw Tuesday from the capital’s government quarter, where they have traded heavy fire with security forces in a serious escalation of a months-long political crisis gripping the nation.

In a broadcast speech, Muqtada al-Sadr gave his supporters an hour to leave — and minutes later some could be seen abandoning their positions. Iraq’s military just announced an end to curfew, further raising hopes that there might be an to the street violence.

The unrest began Monday, when al-Sadr announced he would resign from politics and his supporters stormed the Green Zone, once the stronghold of the U.S. military that’s now home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies. At least 30 people have been killed, officials said.

At least 30 people have been killed and over 400 wounded, two Iraqi medical officials said. The toll included both al-Sadr loyalists killed in protests the day before and clashes overnight. Those figures are expected to rise, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information to journalists.

Members of Iraq’s majority Shiite Muslim population were oppressed when Saddam Hussein ruled the country for decades. The 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam, a Sunni, reversed the political order. Just under two-thirds of Iraq is Shiite, with a third Sunni.

Now, the Shiites are fighting among themselves after the Americans largely withdrew from the nation, with Iranian-backed Shiites and Iraqi-nationalist Shiites jockeying for power, influence and state resources.