SW News: At least 23 protesters were killed in violent clashes in Iraq between security forces and supporters of Shia cleric and politician Moqtada al-Sadr after he announced his resignation from politics on Monday. Protesters stormed Baghdad’s Green Zone after the news of the resignation came out.

Protests also broke out in the Shiite-majority southern provinces, with supporters of the political leader blocking roads in the province of Basra and hundreds taking part in mass demonstrations in Missan. Responding to the violence, the Iraqi military has declared a nationwide curfew, and the caretaker premier Mustafa Al-Kadhimi suspended Cabinet sessions.

The UN mission in Iraq urged all parties to “refrain from acts that could lead to an unstoppable chain of events”, warning that the “very survival of the state is at stake”.

The political crisis in Iraq has also raised concern among the Chaldean Catholic Bishops. In a joint statement, the prelates urged Iraqi political leaders to expedite the formation of a new government to address the widespread corruption and the ongoing economic crisis in the country.

In August, Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of Baghdad had called on all parties to establish a “national consultation table”, warning that the situation could lead to a “tsunami” with devastating consequences for everybody.

He said there is an urgent need to remove the root causes of the continuing chaos in the country and, above all, to recognize the failure of the political system established in 2003 by which power is distributed on an ethnic-sectarian basis. The system is blamed by many Iraqis for the endemic corruption and state dysfunction in the nation.

Iraq has been without a newly elected government since the Sadrist Movement won the largest share of seats in the October elections, but fell short of a majority. Al-Sadr’s refusal to negotiate with the rival Iran-backed Shiite Coordination Framework has thrown the country into political turmoil and uncertainty.

Last month, Al-Sadr’s supporters stormed Baghdad's central government zone (Green Zone). Since then, they have occupied parliament, halting the process to choose a new president and prime minister, with Al Sadr asking for early elections.