Iraq's Sadr suspends protest call over coronavirus fears-statement

Populist Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr suspended a call for his followers to hold massive protests against his political opponents due to fears over the spread of coronavirus on Tuesday, minutes after the health ministry urged citizens to avoid public gatherings.

"I had called for million-man protests and sit-ins against sectarian power-sharing and today I forbid you from them for your health and life, for they are more important to me than anything else," he said in a statement.