The situation was later defused after Abdul Mahdi’s resignation announcement, when local tribal leaders assuaged protesters who were surrounding the city’s police headquarters. In a statement, influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said Abdul Mahdi’s resignation announcement was only the first of the protest movement’s outcomes. If Abdul Mahdi asks parliament to withdraw its confidence in him and it complies, effectively forcing him to resign, the whole government has to change. Abdul Mahdi would take the role of caretaker prime minister in the meantime. But shouts and cries flooded the square when Abdul Mahdi’s statement was announced over loudspeakers.

Source: Washington Post November 29, 2019 13:12 UTC