Supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced their withdrawal from Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, packing up and leaving just a day after they stormed Parliament and began a sit-in.
Addressing the demonstrators, Akhlas al-Obaidi, a protest organiser, urged people to go home to give political decision-making a chance and to commemorate the death of 8th-century Imam Mousa al-Kadhim. She said they would return on Friday to make a "major stand."
Earlier in the day, the demonstrators had picnicked and chanted against politicians they deemed corrupt, while also enjoying what was for some their first sight of Baghdad's most iconic landmarks. The Green Zone is home to Parliament, ministries and embassies and has been sealed off by blast walls and checkpoints for 13 years.
Not far away, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi held a meeting with the president, the parliamentary speaker and other political leaders to try to steer the country out of political turmoil, which is threatening to unseat him.
A statement released after their meeting said they planned "intense" meetings between political parties in the coming days to work on reforms. It also condemned the ransacking of Parliament and ordered that the perpetrators be brought to justice.