Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament, a day after more than 40 people were killed by security forces and following calls by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric for lawmakers to withdraw support.

In a statement, Abdul-Mahdi said he “listened with great concern” to al-Sistani’s sermon and made his decision in response to his call and in order to “facilitate and hasten its fulfillment as soon as possible.”

“I will submit to parliament an official memorandum resigning from the current prime ministry so that the parliament can review its choices,” he said. Abdul-Mahdi was appointed prime minister just over a year ago as a consensus candidate between political blocs.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said parliament, which elected the government of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, should “reconsider its options” in his weekly Friday sermon delivered in the holy city of Najaf via a representative.

“We call upon the House of Representatives from which this current government emerged to reconsider its options in that regard,” al-Sistani said in the statement.

Three more protesters were killed and eight wounded by security forces on Friday who used live rounds in the southern city of Nasiriyah, amid continuing violence after the previous day’s bloodshed.

Al-Sistani also said protesters should distinguish between peaceful demonstrators and those seeking to turn the movement violent, following the burning of an Iranian consulate building in Najaf on Wednesday that government officials say was perpetrated by saboteurs from outside the protest movement.

The Islamic Dawa party called for parliament to convene immediately and choose an alternative government, in a statement.

Forty protesters were shot dead by security forces in Baghdad and the southern cities of Najaf and Nasiriyah on Thursday, in a sharp escalation of violence that continued Friday.

Three protesters were shot and eight wounded by security forces in Nasiriyah when the demonstrators attempted to enter the city center to resume their sit-in, security and hospital officials said. Security forces had fired live rounds the previous day to disperse protesters from two key bridges, killing 31 people.

In Baghdad, protesters gathered around the historic Rasheed Street near the strategic Ahrar Bridge and burned the Iranian flag, chanting “Iran out!”

Four people were shot by security forces on the bridge the previous day. Protesters are also occupying parts of the nearby bridges Jumhuriya and Sinar — all of which lead to the fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government.

At least 400 protesters have died since Oct. 1, when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite southern provinces to decry corruption, poor services and lack of jobs. Security forces have used live fire, tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse crowds.

A spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general expressed deep concern over the use of live ammunition against protesters on Friday.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the Iraqi authorities to exercise maximum restraint, protect the lives of demonstrators, respect the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and swiftly to investigate all acts of violence,” said Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement.

Related Stories
‹
Iraqis Worry U.S.-Iran Tensions are Eclipsing Their Protests
Young Iraqis who drove mass protests demanding sweeping political reforms are worried that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which is playing out in part on Iraqi soil, is killing their momentum. Even before the U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the 4-month-old protests against government corruption, poor services and rising […]
Colin Powell, Exemplary General Stained by Iraq Claims, Dies
Written by ROBERT BURNS Colin Powell, who served Democratic and Republican presidents in war and peace but whose sterling reputation was forever stained when he went before the U.N. and made faulty claims to justify the U.S. war in Iraq, has died of COVID-19 complications. He was 84. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Powell […]
Mideast in Shambles, but the World Has Moved on for Now
Written by ZEINA KARAM There was a time not long ago when uprisings and wars in the Arab world topped the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. With most of those conflicts in a stalemate, the world’s focus has shifted to more daunting global challenges such as the still raging coronavirus […]
U.S. Airstrikes Target Iran-Backed Militias in Syria, Iraq
Written by LOU KESTEN The U.S. military, under the direction of President Joe Biden, carried out airstrikes against what it said were “facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups” near the border between Iraq and Syria, drawing condemnation from Iraq’s military and calls for revenge by the militias. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the militias […]
U.S. Forces: Rockets Hit Airbase in Iraq Hosting U.S. Troops
Written by SAMYA KULLAB At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., coalition spokesman Col. Wayne […]
Militia Official: U.S. Strike in Syria Kills 1, Wounds Several
Written by QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, LOLITA C. BALDOR, and ROBERT BURNS A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one of their militiamen and wounding a number of others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier […]
Twin Suicide Bombings Rock Central Baghdad, at Least 32 Dead
Twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens, officials said. The rare suicide bombing hit the Bab al-Sharqi commercial area in central Baghdad amid heightened political tensions over planned early elections and a severe economic crisis. Blood was splattered on the pavement […]
Iraq Army says U.S. Strikes Kill 5 Security Forces, 1 Civilian
Iraq’s military said five security force members and a civilian were killed early Friday in a barrage of U.S. airstrikes launched hours after a rocket attack killed and wounded American and British servicemen at a base north of Baghdad. An Iran-backed Shiite militia group vowed to exact revenge for the U.S. strikes, potentially signalling another […]
Ukrainian Jet Crash Kills 176, Sets Off Mourning in Canada
The crash of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people in Iran touched off mourning Wednesday in both Ukraine and Canada — where many of the victims were from or were headed — and raised a host of questions about what went wrong. But U.S. intelligence officials said there was no immediate evidence it was […]
Trump Says Iran Appears To Be 'Standing Down' After Strike
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran appears to be “standing down” and said no Americans or Iraqis were harmed in Iran’s Tuesday ballistic missile strike on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Speaking from the foyer of the White House, Trump announced that the U.S. will immediately place new sanctions on Iran “until Iran […]
›