Encouraging violence, Sadr orders clearing sit-ins after PM appointed
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged his followers on Sunday to help security forces clear roads blocked during months of sit-in protests, calling for "day-to-day life" to resume following the appointment of a new prime minister, Reuters reported.
Sadr, who has alternately sided with the anti-government protesters and the Iran-backed political groups they reject, urged his unarmed supporters known as "blue hats" to work with authorities to ensure schools and businesses can operate normally again.
"I advise the security forces to stop anyone from cutting off roads and the ministry of education should punish those who obstruct regular working hours, be they students, teachers or others," Sadr said in a statement published on Twitter.
Some of his followers appeared to have helped already to clear out protest areas in Baghdad's Tahrir Square overnight, a Reuters reporter said.