An influential Iraqi cleric called on his supporters to withdraw Tuesday from the capital's government quarter,
where they have traded heavy fire with security forces in a serious escalation of a monthslong political crisis gripping the nation.
In a televised speech, Muqtada al-Sadr gave his supporters an hour to leave —
and minutes later some could be seen abandoning their positions on live television.
Iraq’s military announced an end to a curfew, further raising hopes that there might be a halt to the street violence.
The unrest began Monday, when al-Sadr announced he would resign from politics and his supporters stormed the Green Zone,
once the stronghold of the U.S. military that's now home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies.
At least 30 people have been killed, officials said.
“This is not a revolution,” al-Sadr said in a televised address, which followed pleas for restraint and peace from several Iraqi officials and the United Nations.