Al-Fatah coalition praises al-Sadr recent statements

Shafaq News / Al-Fatah coalition commended on Tuesday the recent statements of the powerful Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, in which he called on his supporters to withdraw from the Green Zone.

MP Mukhtar al-Moussawi told Shafaq News agency that al-Sadr's statement thwarted foreign attempts to ignite strife in the country.

He called on the Coordination Framework to cooperate with the caretaker government and the Sadrist movement to implement the latter's demands based on the constitution, including dissolving the Parliament and keeping the country away from the strife that was about to ignite a Shiite-Shiite conflict.

He said that it is the framework and the government's turn to take action after al-Sadr called on his supporters to withdraw from the Green Zone.

Al-Sadr has called on his supporters to withdraw from Iraq's parliament during a news conference in his headquarters in Najaf's al-Hannana.

Al-Sadr instructed his supporters to withdraw within the next 60 minutes, adding that not even a sit-in or peaceful demonstration would be allowed.

He apologized to the Iraqi people after nearly two days of violent clashes.

"This is not a revolution [any more] because it has lost its peaceful character," al-Sadr said in a televised address.

"The spilling of Iraqi blood is forbidden," he added.

Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, carrying guns and driving tuk-tuk vehicles, begun withdrawing from Baghdad's Green Zone after the influential Shia cleric called on them to end their actions.

Following the move, Iraq's Joint Operations Command said it had been decided to lift the curfew in Baghdad and other governorates.