At least 30 people were killed and over 700 injured in clashes between security forces and Sadr’s supporters who had entered and captured government buildings inside the high security Green Zone in Baghdad 

Rania Khalek of BreakThrough News explains the latest developments in the political crisis in Iraq. Uncertainty continues in the country with no government having been formed since the the election of October 2021

In a speech on August 3, Sadr asked his supporters to continue their sit-in inside the Iraqi parliament building and rejected calls for dialogue issued by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi 

The protesters were supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party members resigned from the parliament earlier this year after failing to win enough support to form a national majority government 

Muqtada al-Sadr announced the dissolution of his Saving the Homeland coalition with the Sovereign Alliance (al-Siyada) and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP)

The change in the nature of the US mission in Iraq first announced in July this year has been rejected by the Iraqi militias who are demanding a complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country

The fifth elections since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country saw the lowest voter turnout (41%), amid growing discontent with the political system due to widespread corruption, inefficiency and government apathy

The elections are taking place one year ahead of schedule following popular protests that broke out in October 2019 against the failure of successive governments to address the rising economic and political problems in the country

The Iraqi Communist Party, which was part of the leading alliance in the last elections in 2018, announced in July that it will not participate in the upcoming national elections in October due to the lack of a conducive political atmosphere

The Conference on Partnership and Cooperation in Baghdad was attended by most of the major regional players, including Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. French president Emmanuel Macron was also present in the meeting

Today we look at protests against repression and rights abuses in the Philippines, the ‘Kisan Sansad’ sit-in set up by Indian farmers amid the ongoing struggle, and more

The opposition in Iraq has said the decision does not go far enough as the parliament had passed a resolution calling for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the country