Protesters walk on tables and chairs of deputies
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Hundreds of protesters stormed the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad in opposition to a candidate for minister subsidized through parties subsidized by Iran.
Most of the men were supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who had asked them to enter the city’s heavily fortified area, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies.
Riot police tried to arrest protesters with a water cannon as they scaled concrete walls and fences to enter the domain on Wednesday.
In parliament, protesters marched on tables, searched files, sat on the chairs of parliamentarians, who were provided, waved Iraqi flags, flew photographs of M. al-Sadr and chanted anti-Iranian slogans.
As the protest unfolded, interim Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called for calm and restraint and urged protesters to “immediately withdraw” from the area.
Reports imply that security guards tried to prevent the demonstration that Mr. al-Sadr called against the election of Mohammed al-Sudani as the official candidate of the Coordination Framework Bloc, a coalition led by Shiite parties subsidized by Iran and its allies. .
Since the October 2021 federal election, Iraq’s national political formula has been at an impasse, as it has failed to shape a first-coalition government or elect a new head of state.
M. al-Sadr had sought to form a government with Sunni and Kurdish allies, Iranian-backed parties led through his longtime rival, shaper Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Protesters climb fences in the area, where government buildings are located
But M. al-Sadr recently withdrew from the procedure of forming a new government. Although it won the maximum number of seats in the October elections, it had enough MPs to obtain the majority required to elect Iraq’s new prime minister.
In protest at the setback, its MPs, who held around 70 of the 329 seats, resigned from parliament.
In a statement, the Framework coalition said it had been “calls for chaos, stoking conflict” in the past 24 hours since Mr M’s appointment. al-Sudani.
Muqtada al-Sadr’s supporters waved Iraqi flags and chanted anti-Iran slogans.
A few hours after his supporters occupied Parliament, M. al-Sadr issued a message on Twitter telling them that they had won their message and to “return safely to your homes. ” Shortly after, the protesters began to leave the parliament building under the watch of security guards.
The U. N. said in a statement that Iraqis had the right to protest but that it was “essential that the protests were non-violent and respected the law. “
The most recent protest, the largest since the election was held, and the moment this month when Mr. al-Sadr is mobilizing its supporters en masse to send a warning to its rivals of a possible escalation if a government bureaucracy with M. al-Sudani at the helm.
In early July, tens of thousands of others responded to Mr. M. ‘s call. al-Sadr for mass prayer and filled al-Falah Street with white shrouds and Iraqi flags. The prayer service is also a tribute to M. ‘His father. a-Sadr, the cleric Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr.
Some of the protesters carried M. al-Sadr signs to show their loyalty.
His father performed friday prayer challenging Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1990s before he was assassinated in 1999. The U. S. invasion of Iraq overthrew the regime that led to the execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006.
In 2016, supporters of M. al-Sadr stormed the Green Zone and entered the construction of parliament to call for political reform. There are reports that they have been attacked.
Iraqi protesters violate Baghdad parliament Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Ali Abdul Hassan/AP
Protesters climb fences in the area, where government buildings are located
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Muqtada al-Sadr’s supporters waved Iraqi flags and chanted anti-Iran slogans.
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Some of the protesters carried M. al-Sadr signs to show their loyalty.
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