BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Cabinet has decided not to authorize a protest camp by followers of cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr which had been due to begin Friday in front of the fortified "Green Zone".
Tens of thousands of Sadr supporters have been preparing for a days-long sit-in in central Baghdad aimed at pressuring the government to implement deeper political reform.
"Staging a sit-in is not permitted by law, especially in the current security circumstances, notably the threat by terrorist groups and the potential for this gathering to be targeted," a Cabinet statement said Wednesday.
"The security forces are busy with the fight against Daesh (so-called IS) and it is not possible to guarantee the protection of this gathering at all times," it said.
The Cabinet stressed that it "supports the demonstrations demanding government reforms" and has protected one-day protests by the Sadr movement in recent weeks.
The Najaf-based Sadr had urged his supporters on March 12 to prepare tents for a protest camp supposed to begin on Friday and last until the expiry 10 days later of an ultimatum he gave the government.
A month ago, the Shiite cleric gave Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi 45 days to present the names of technocrats for a new government.
Sadrists have held a series of massive rallies in central Baghdad, with thousands turning out last week for the latest protest to press their demands.
The presence a week earlier of armed Sadr supporters outside the Green Zone — where Abadi's office, parliament and the US embassy are located — sparked intense security concerns.
Residents flee Hit
Meanwhile, terrified residents were fleeing the Iraqi town of Hit as security forces closed in Tuesday and militant fighters hunkered down to defend one of their main bastions in Anbar province.
After regaining control of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi from Daesh earlier this year, Iraqi forces have been advancing up the Euphrates Valley in recent weeks. Officials are vowing to launch a final operation to retake Hit, a key hub along the Euphrates, in the coming days.
Police colonel Fadhel Al-Nimrawi said thousands of families had recently fled Hit to Al-Baghdadi, a town to the northwest, and other locations in Anbar where displaced civilians are gathered.
