Sadr's followers camp out in Iraq parliament for 2nd day
The Hindu
Hundreds of followers of an influential Shia cleric are camped out inside the Iraqi parliament, after toppling security walls around the building and storming in the previous day
Hundreds of followers of an influential Shia cleric were camped out Sunday inside the Iraqi parliament, after toppling security walls around the building and storming in the previous day.
The protesters — followers of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — pledged to hold an open-ended sit-in to derail efforts by their rivals from Iran-backed political groups to form the country's next government.
The developments have catapulted Iraq's politics to center stage, plunging the country deeper into a political crisis as a power struggle unfolds between the two major Shia groups.
On Sunday, the sit-in appeared more of a joyous celebration that a political protest — followers of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were dancing, praying and chanting slogans inside the parliament, in praise of their leader.
In between, they took naps on mattresses lining the grand halls.
It was a scene starkly different from the one on Saturday, when the protesters used ropes and chains to topple cement walls around the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, then flooded into the assembly building. It was the second such breach last week, but this time they did not disperse peacefully.
Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and sun grenades at first, to try to repel the demonstrators. The Ministry of Health said about 125 people were injured in the violence — 100 protesters and 25 members of the security forces. Within a few hours, the police backed off, leaving the parliament to the protesters.