Saraya al-Salam commander: 'We will not surrender'

A commander of Sadr's Saraya al-Salam armed faction told MEE that Sadrist protesters are trapped in crossfire in the Green Zone.

"We have hundreds of protesters trapped inside. These people did not leave their positions and were caught between the fire from both sides," he told MEE's Suadad al-Salhy.

"We are trying to secure them. We will not stop until our opponents surrender. They refuse to surrender and neither will we."

Sadr-affiliated Saraya al-Salam militia shown firing an RPG towards Iran-backed militias inside Baghdad's Green Zone as clashes have continued for several hours in the Iraqi capital

🎥: Telegram channels affiliated to Sadrists and CF pic.twitter.com/LdLSaF7plj
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The commander told MEE that Saraya al-Salam's "tactical regiment", which includes some of the faction's hardiest fighters, is currently engaged with fighting in the Green Zone.

He said the forces currently responding to them from inside the Green Zone are “the forces of former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, in addition to some forces associated with the Popular Mobilisation Security Directorate”.

The Special Division responsible for securing the Green Zone was founded by Maliki. Most of its fighters are from Maliki's birthplace Tuwairej, a town 20km east of Karbala, and so the Sadrists accuse its fighters of loyalty to the Iran-backed Dawa Party leader.