This is yet another show of force from supporters of influential Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
Several hundred demonstrators took over the Iraqi Parliament on Wednesday July 27 by entering the ultra-secure Green Zone, which houses government institutions and embassies in Baghdad, to denounce the candidacy for the post of Prime Minister presented by the opposing political camp.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi called on protesters to "withdraw immediately" from the Green Zone, warning in a statement that law enforcement would ensure "the protection of state institutions and foreign missions, and prevent any attacks to safety and order".
Once they entered the Green Zone, the demonstrators headed for Parliament but the police fired tear gas to hinder their progress, a security source told AFP.
However, the demonstrators returned to the charge and "invested the Parliament", indicated to AFP this official of the ministry of the Interior speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The protesters entered the parliament building," state news agency INA said on its Telegram app account.
An AFP correspondent in the Green Zone had previously seen protesters carrying one of their own, slightly injured after tear gas was fired.
An endless political crisis
The political impasse is total in Iraq ten months after the legislative elections of October 2021. As often, the negotiations to form a government and to appoint a Prime Minister play the extensions, in this multi-confessional country where the same figures dominate life. public since 2003 and the fall of President Saddam Hussein.
Wednesday's demonstrators denounce the candidacy for prime minister of Mohamed Chia al-Soudani, a 52-year-old former minister and former provincial governor.
He is the candidate of the Coordination Framework, an alliance of pro-Iran Shiite factions bringing together the formation of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and representatives of Hachd al-Chaabi, former paramilitaries integrated into the regular forces.
The Coordination Framework brings together some adversaries of Moqtada al-Sadr, including his longtime enemy Nouri al-Maliki.
Moqtada al-Sadr remains a key player even if he is no longer represented in Parliament: a fan of outbursts, he made his 73 deputies resign in June, who nevertheless represented the first force in the Parliament of 329 deputies.
With AFP
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