Tens of thousands of supporters of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada Sadr rallied across Baghdad and other cities on Saturday, protesting against the US-Israel war on Iran. The demonstrations highlight Iraq's unwilling entanglement in regional tensions, as the country suffers attacks targeting both US interests and pro-Iranian factions within its borders, exacerbating internal instability and geopolitical friction.
In Baghdad's Tahrir Square, massive crowds, including women, filled the streets, waving Iraqi flags and chanting: “No, no to Israel” and “No, no to America”. A demonstrator in his 40s, Dhirgham Samir, told the AFP news agency: “What America and Israel are doing in their aggression against the countries of the region is not a war of a military nature, but a senseless war.” He added that the protest is an expression of rejection of aggression, arrogance, and injustice worldwide, not just in Iraq, claiming that “this is a senseless war, targeting civilians”. The ongoing conflict has reportedly resulted in thousands of casualties across the region since its inception.
Sadr had called for peaceful demonstrations “to condemn the Zionist-American aggression and to establish peace in the region”. Beneath Baghdad's Freedom Monument, which commemorates Iraq's independence declaration, protesters denounced what they characterized as US and Israeli meddling in regional affairs. Muslim leader Ali al-Fartousi told AFP: “They violate the rights of all the peoples of the region first, and then the world. Humanity must speak out against these people and stop them. The time has come for the entire world to stand united against global Zionist-American arrogance.” Sadr commands a loyal following of millions within Iraq's Shia majority and has consistently demonstrated his ability to mobilize large crowds. Though he has opposed various governments, his influence extends into Iraqi ministries and official institutions through his representatives, underscoring his enduring political clout amid the ongoing regional turmoil.
Source: www.aljazeera.com