Iraqi cleric tells loyalists to leave streets after clashes

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrate in the grounds of the government palace in Baghdad, Iraq (Hadi Mizban/AP)

Armed supporters of a powerful Iraqi cleric who clashed with security forces in the capital have begun to withdraw from the streets, restoring a measure of calm after a serious escalation of the nation’s political crisis.

Following two days of deadly unrest that sparked fears instability might spread throughout the country and even the region, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told his supporters to leave the government quarter in Baghdad where they had rallied.