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Thousands of Iraqis join protests despite cleric Moqtadr Al-Sadr asking them to go home

Anti-government protesters gather at Tahrir square in Baghdad on January 26, 2020.  - Anadolu
Anti-government protesters gather at Tahrir square in Baghdad on January 26, 2020. - Anadolu

Thousands of Iraqis yesterday/SUN faced down live gunfire as they poured into the streets of Baghdad in defiance of calls by powerful cleric Moqtadr Al-Sadr to stay home.

Throngs of students marched past the Ministry of Education and onto the capital’s Tahrir Square in solidarity with those who have been camped out for the past three months as anti-government demonstrations have paralysed the nation.

Many wore balaclavas or gas masks as they hurdled stones and Molotov cocktails at government forces, occasionally retreating in a frenzy as live fire crackled from the police positions.

As they progressed through one of the city’s main tunnels, the chant “How could you [Al-Sadr'] leave us when the blood is still not cold?”, echoed off the concrete walls.

Having initially supported the demonstrations, a spokesperson for the Al-Sadr, who leads one of the country's largest militias and is considered among its most powerful figures, said the cleric had pulled for support for anti-government demonstrators after they insulted a separate rally  organised on Friday by Al-Sadr. That demonstration called for the removal of US troops from the country.

Protesters use fire to close a street during clashes with security forces in Baghdad  - Credit: Khalid Mohammed/AP
Protesters use fire to close a street during clashes with security forces in Baghdad Credit: Khalid Mohammed/AP

Devoted followers of Al Sadr began packing up their tents in Tahrir Square on Saturday but the protest movement did not immediately collapse without his backing, as some had feared.

In fact, Iraqis rallied, and the crowds in public squares across the country grew throughout the day on Sunday.

“Today’s numbers were in his [Sadr’s] face, they show he can’t end us,” said Viktor, 20, a dentistry student from Karradah, who should have been in class.

“Some have realised he [Al Sadr] is not as holy as they thought. He is weak now, the recent decisions have made him weak,” he added.

Many of the students had lied to their wearisome parents, skipping classes on Sunday to protest and promising to be home before night.

“My mother will kill me before the militias do,” quipped 19-year-old Haider Hossam.

Elsewhere in the country, protesters marched in Nasiriya and Basra, resurrecting tents at sites of two of the most vicious security clampdowns.

The turnout came just hours after security forces fired on protest camps in an attempt to clear them after Al-Sadr’s surprise reversal.

Riot police raided camps across the country throughout Saturday, killing at least 10.

In Baghdad’s Tahrir, one person was killed before the advance was repelled by protestors hurling Molotov cocktails and building makeshift barricades.

There were signs that Al-Sadr may have made one reversal too many for some of his usually obedient followers. Ziyad Al Darraj from Sadr City stood in front of a poster of the cleric as he told The Telegraph he would defy the instruction to leave.

“My message for those who left is to come back to Tahrir because we are the people of Iraq, we are the people from Baghdad,” he said.

“If we leave Tahrir, the whole revolution will end, so we need you to stay with us”.

In one video posted to social media, a young man yells “Sayyid Moqtadr, I am one of your followers, I wear you around my neck - why are you selling us out?”.