Demonstration against the American presence is held on Friday in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Al-Sumaria reports.
According to the channel, a major demonstration began on Friday morning in the Al Jadria district in downtown Baghdad. It is noted that demonstrators protesting against the American presence in Iraq carry Iraqi flags and shout patriotic slogans.
The TV channel emphasizes that earlier influential Shiite politician and religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who is one of the leaders of the “Sairun” bloc in the Iraqi parliament, called on people to go out for a peaceful demonstration with demands to stop the presence of American armed forces in the country.
The Iraqi parliament at an extraordinary session on January 5 voted by a majority of votes for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the country, and also spoke in favor of ending cooperation with the forces of the international coalition to combat terrorist groups.
These measures were a response to a U.S. operation near Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian General Kassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) special unit, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iraqi Shiite militia, on the night of January 3. In Washington, they are considered involved in organizing the attack on the American embassy in Baghdad December 31, 2019.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose sanctions on Iraq if the U.S. contingent were to leave the country. According to U.S. press reports, Trump’s administration is preparing possible reductions in military aid to Baghdad by $250 million and is considering the possibility of reducing other economic and military aid.