At least 20 people were killed, and many others injured in protests after Moqtada al-Sadr announces he is quitting politics.

According to local sources, the casualties occurred when the security forces pushed protesters out of Iraq's Republican Palace by firing tear gas and live bullets.

Thousands of protesters stormed the building inside the Green Zone following al-Sadr's announcement, Iraqi security officials said.

At least 20 supporters of Sadr had been shot dead and about 350 other protesters were injured in the incidents.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the caretaker Prime Minister, urged Moqtada Al Sadr to help call on the demonstrators to withdraw from government institutions.  

“While we affirm that the transgressions by protestors on state institutions are an act that stands condemned and falls outside legal avenues, we call on His Eminence Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has always supported the state, and underscored the importance of its authority as well as respect for the security forces, to help call on the demonstrators to withdraw from government institutions,” a statement released by his office read.

“The persistence of the political dispute to the point where it is damaging all state institutions does not serve the Iraqi people, their aspirations, their future, and their territorial integrity,” it warned. (ILKHA)