ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After a day of violent escalation in Baghdad, supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew from the capital's fortified Green Zone on Tuesday following calls from their leader to do so within an hour or face consequences.
Sadr, in a televised speech, gave his supporters sixty minutes to withdraw from the Green Zone and the vicinity of the parliament building, warning them against facing "other consequences" if they fail to do so and expressed strong condemnation regarding the stance that the Sadrist Movement has taken in the protests.
"We had hoped that there would be peaceful protests, not with weapons," the cleric said, openly criticizing the "revolution" of the Sadrist Movement.
Minutes after Sadr's speech, swarms of his supporters began to pull back from the Green Zone with Iraqi leaders and diplomatic missions thanking the cleric for taking strides to de-escalate the situation.
"A revolution marred by violence and murder is not a revolution," he said, apologizing to the Iraqi people.
Fierce clashes ensued in Baghdad and tensions soared on Monday after Sadr announced his "definitive retirement" from Iraqi politics and the closure of all Sadrist institutions.
The cleric's loyalists clashed with the Iranian-backed Coordination Framework's supporters in urban fighting using heavy weapons, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs).
The Green Zone in Baghdad, once deemed the capital's safe haven, was in complete disarray and chaos as fighting between Iraqi rival forces raged on.
"My retirement is legitimate, not political," Sadr stated, affirming his decision as "final."
At least 23 supporters of Sadr were killed in the chaos and an additional 380 were injured, according to AFP.
The Coordination Framework also announced their withdrawal from the suspension bridge leading to the Green Zone following their rivals' withdrawal, according to state media.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi commended Sadr for his call to end violence, saying "it represents the highest levels of patriotism and keenness to preserve Iraqi blood."
Iraqi forces also lifted the curfew in Baghdad and other provinces following Sadr's de-escalation call as his supporters made their way out of the Green Zone.
Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi also thanked Sadr for his speech, saying "your stance is as big as Iraq, which deserves a lot from us."
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) expressed its gratitude for Sadr's declaration and reiterated that pursuing "restraint and calm" is vital for a reason to prevail.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani welcomed the position of Sadr and his calls to withdraw from the Green Zone, once again inviting Iraq's rival political parties and forces for dialogue in Erbil.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Coordination Framework's Fatih Alliance, called Sadr's initiative to end armed violence a "brave initiative and deserves appreciation and praise."
Iraqi National Security Advisor also thanked Sadr in a tweet.
Iraq held snap parliamentary elections in October but disagreements have prevented political parties from electing a president and a prime minister more than ten months after elections were held, setting a record.
The situation escalated in late July after Sadrist demonstrators stormed the Iraqi parliament, demanding its dissolution and holding early elections. Later in August, the Shiite cleric called on Iraq's judiciary to dissolve the parliament and protestors flocked to the council's building, despite it affirming that it does not reserve the right to interfere in legislative or executive matters and therefore cannot dissolve the parliament.
Sadr has previously made such withdrawal announcements but returned to politics shortly after making them.
The Sadrist Movement, which emerged from the October elections with the highest number of seats, withdrew from the parliament in June after a prolonged disagreement with the Coordination Framework over the formation of Iraq's next government.
