Baghdad — The Iraqi protest movement, calling for eliminating the sectarian quota system and forming a government of technocrats, held a massive protest in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad July 15 to revitalize the protest movement that seemed to have lost some of its momentum over the past two months.

On July 7, Ahmed Abdul Hussein, a member of the coordination committee of the Mustamerroun movement (We Will Not Back Down) stated on his Facebook page that a meeting was held between the leaders of the coordination committee — formed of liberals and leftists — on the one hand, and Muqtada al-Sadr, the young Shiite cleric and head of the Sadrist movement, on the other hand.

Hussein explained that the meeting assessed the situation of the social movement and discussed new and peaceful ways to pressure the government to implement the protesters' demands.

The protests started in Iraq on July 31, 2015, under the leadership of young men calling for a secular state. However, at its onset, this movement formed alliances with militant groups such as the League of the Righteous and the Imam Ali Battalions. But these two factions soon withdrew from the protest movement and were replaced by masses supporting the Sadrist movement.