Observers warn that if even the smallest counter-offensive takes place, an escalation of violence is likely.<\/p>\n
Dozens of men dance in a circle, form a kind of polonaise and sing. They wave flags and hold up pictures. Others have settled on mats and are sleeping. The seemingly peaceful scenes are a deceptive image – because the location for them is none other than the Iraqi parliament.<\/p>\n
What is happening here is extremely dangerous. Thousands of supporters of the influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are still camping in the building. “We as a people have a leader and we follow orders unconditionally,” said one protester. “If he tells us to back off, we do that, but if he tells us to stay, then we stay – God willing.”<\/p>\n
According to observers, the situation in Iraq is extremely tense: if even the smallest counter-offensive is launched, an escalation of violence is very likely. So far, security forces have only used tear gas and water cannons, and more than 100 people have been injured.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators entered Baghdad’s green zone on Saturday and stormed parliament for the second time this week – concrete walls were simply torn down. Sadr’s supporters announced an indefinite sit-in in parliament and said they would stay until their demands were met.<\/p>\n
In Iraq there is a bitter power struggle within the majority of the population \u2013 Shiites against Shiites. Some are in favor of influence from neighboring Iran, while others – that is, the supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr – reject outside interference.<\/p>\n
Al-Sadr actually received the most votes in the parliamentary elections last October, but he failed to form a government. After months of deadlock, the frustrated religious leader and his MPs withdrew from parliament in June – giving his rivals, led by former Prime Minister al-Malikis, the majority they needed.<\/p>\n
When they wanted to elect a new prime minister, al-Sadr had his people march out – probably to prove once again what power he has in Iraq and that he can mobilize the masses.<\/p>\n
Al-Sadr’s political opponents are now trying to appease them in order to avoid an escalation of violence: “They are calling for dialogue,” said Wael el-Rekaby of the Iraqi National Media Observatory. Everyone got the message – the current situation can have serious consequences for Iraq. That is why al-Sadr’s opponents have made it clear that they oppose any escalation that could lead to clashes.<\/p>\n
But al-Sadr announced in the afternoon that he was rejecting negotiations. The occupation of Parliament continues unabated. How a new government is supposed to emerge in this chaos is completely unclear. And many observers fear a new wave of violence in Iraq.<\/p>\n
Turkey reopens customs gates with Iran, Iraq<\/a> Observers warn that if even the smallest counter-offensive takes place, an escalation of violence is likely. Dozens of men dance in a circle, form a kind of polonaise and sing. They wave flags and hold up pictures. Others have settled on mats and are sleeping. The seemingly peaceful scenes are a deceptive image – because …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":72282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTurkey \u2018neutralizes\u2019 5 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"