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The Inquiry: How close did Iraq come to civil war?

How close did Iraq come to civil war?

22/09/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, How close did Iraq come to civil war?

Political tensions in Iraq have led to violence – but how close did it come to civil war?

In August, peaceful demonstrations in Iraq turned violent, with the sound of gunfire returning to Baghdad – but how close did the country come to civil war?

August 2022. Political tensions in Iraq boil over, and peaceful demonstrations outside the country’s parliament turn violent. The sounds of gun and rocket fire return to Baghdad, and 30 people are killed. 

The violence ends when populist leader Muqtada al-Sadr tells his followers to lay down their arms and go home. His Sadrist party won the most seats in the previous election, but his inability to form a majority government has led to the political deadlock. 

Politics in a country as diverse as Iraq is complicated, with Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups, and well-armed militias. Add oil revenues and political interference by Iraq’s neighbour Iran into the mix, and you have a potentially volatile situation. 

So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking, How close did Iraq come to civil war?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett 
Producers: Ravi Naik and Christopher Blake 
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producers: Richard Hannaford and Mitch Goodall 
Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Supporters storm Republican Palace after Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced retirement from politics, Baghdad, Iraq - 29 Aug 2022: 
by MURTAJA LATEEF/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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