Ankara Says Concerned About Clashes in Iraq, Calls on Conflicting Parties to Restraint

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Ankara is concerned over ongoing clashes between supporters of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, and is calling on the parties to common sense and restraint, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The events in Baghdad have become a threat to the stability, unity and security of the country. The stability and security of friendly and fraternal Iraq are vital for Turkey. In this regard, we are concerned about the violence spread throughout the country," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement at Sputnik's disposal.

Ankara also called on the parties to the conflict in Baghdad to common sense and restraint.

"We hope that the current political conflicts will be resolved peacefully and through an inclusive dialogue, and peace and prosperity of the Iraqi people will be ensured," the statement added.

Meanwhile, officials from the Iraqi government are negotiating with the leadership of al-Sadr's movement and the coordination forces opposing him to stop the clashes, the Al Jazeera broadcaster reported, citing sources.

On Monday, al-Sadr announced his final retirement from politics and the closure of all offices of his party — the Sadrist Movement — amid threats of his physical elimination. After that, violent clashes erupted between followers of al-Sadr and Iraqi security forces. Demonstrators stormed the Republican Palace in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone. So far, 20 people have been killed in the conflict, according to media reports.

Iraq has been facing a political deadlock since the early parliamentary elections — the first since 2003 — in October 2021. Al-Sadr's political bloc won the elections but reverted to the opposition in May 2022 and stepped down in June after several unsuccessful attempts to form a government.