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BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (AP) \u2014 Iraqi paramilitary forces killed in heavy clashes with the supporters of a powerful Shiite cleric were laid to rest on Wednesday as Iraq\u2019s parliament speaker announced three days of mourning.<\/p>\n
Normal life crept back in Baghdad after a bloody 24 hours when the supporters of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr clashed with Iraqi security forces inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
At least 30 people, both al-Sadr\u2019s loyalists and Iraqi security forces, were killed, and over 400 people were wounded after trading fire for hours this week. Al-Sadr later called on his supporters to withdraw on Tuesday, spurring a de-escalation of hostilities.<\/p>\n
Still, the threat of more clashes looms as the political rivalry between al-Sadr and his Iran-backed rivals in the Coordination Framework have not been settled. Tensions between the two camps are still palpable and a way out of Iraq\u2019s 10-month political vacuum does not appear within reach.<\/p>\n
Both camps disagree over the appropriate mechanism to dissolve parliament and hold early elections, key demands of al-Sadr. His party won the 2021 federal election but was not able to reach the legislative quorum to vote in a government that excluded his Iran-friendly rivals.<\/p>\n
Al-Sadr\u2019s representative, who goes by the Twitter moniker Mohammed Saleh al-Iraqi, called on Iran to \u201crein in her camel\u201d in Iraq \u2014 a reference to the Framework \u2014 or face the consequences. The strong language was unusual from al-Sadr\u2019s camp, indicating tensions are still simmering.<\/p>\n
The statement came in response to an earlier plea from the Framework calling on the parliament to convene, a move al-Sadr\u2019s supporters prevented by storming the legislative assembly in July.<\/p>\n
A funeral procession for four members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a state-sanctioned umbrella of paramilitaries among which Iran-backed Shiite militias are the most powerful, was held in Baghdad. Key leaders from the Framework attended.<\/p>\n
Iraq\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Halbousi declared three days of mourning for those killed in the clashes, according to a statement from his office.<\/p>\n
Shop-owners in the capital\u2019s markets said they were relieved the army lifted the curfew, fearing a drawn-out conflict would have undermined their livelihoods. Many residents said they feared a return to clashes.<\/p>\n
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BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (AP) \u2014 Iraqi paramilitary forces killed in heavy clashes with the supporters of a powerful Shiite cleric were laid to rest on Wednesday as Iraq\u2019s parliament speaker announced three days of mourning. Normal life crept back in Baghdad after a bloody 24 hours when the supporters of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-199332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}