°®Âþµº

Iraq's has called for militias, including factions of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), to be removed from"sensitive" areas, includingÌýBaghdad's Green Zone, afterÌýa week ofÌý.

Five people were on ThursdayÌýwhen Saraya Al-Salam, a militia affiliated with the Sadrist Movement, clashed with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, a PMF faction.

Two of those killed were from Saraya al-Salam, while three were from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, a senior security official in Basra °®Âþµº's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. TheyÌýaddedÌýthat the situation had since calmed after the heavy deployment of state security forces.

Baghdad's Green Zone, home to many state institutions,Ìýwitnessed heavy bloodshed on Monday when supporters of the Sadrist MovementÌýstormed the area in violence that killed 30 people after its leader,ÌýShia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said he would quit politics.

Salih Mohammad al-Iraqi, a shadowy figure on TwitterÌýbelieved to be a senior adviser to Muqtada Al-Sadr, caretaker prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to have state forces take over "sensitive" areas and remove all PMF militia factions from the Green Zone.

Al-Iraqi also called for al-Kadhimi to removeÌýFalih al-Fayyadh from his position as chairman of the PMF, saying he was unfit to hold the role.

The PMF is a state-sanctioned umbrella group of militias backed by Iran. Some have been accused of grave human rights violations, including the killing and kidnapping of prominent figures in Iraq's popular protest movement that began in October 2019.

Iraqi leaders have failed to hold the factions accountable for such abuses.

Some of the militias are linked to members ofÌýthe Coordination Framework, the umbrella group of Iran-backed political parties that are the main opponents of Sadr and his party.

The two sides have been engaged in a political deadlock that has left Iraq without a government for almost a year.

The Sadrists won the largest share of seats in the October election but failed to form a majority government. MPs belonging to Sadr'sÌýbloc later resigned from parliament, and his supporters last month stormed the parliament building inÌýBaghdad.

Sadr has demanded that parliament be dissolved and early elections held, while the Coordination FrameworkÌýsaid that parliament would have to convene to dissolve itself.

Iraq's top court it would give a ruling on parliament's dissolution next week.