Thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric breached Iraq’s parliament Saturday, the second time in a week, to protest government formation efforts led by Iran-backed groups.
Iraqi security forces initially used tear gas and sound bombs to try to repel the demonstrators and caused several injuries witnessed by journalists for The Associated Press. The Health Ministry said it had received 60 injured patients.Heeding the calls of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the demonstrators used ropes to pull down cement barricades leading to the gate of Iraq’s Green Zone. The district houses official buildings and foreign embassies.
Demonstrators then occupied the parliament floor and raised the Iraqi flag and portraits of al-Sadr. It was the second time in the span of three days that the cleric has ordered his followers to stage a sit-in in the Green Zone. The protests are a pressure tactic used by the cleric to derail government formation efforts led by his political rivals in the Coalition Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties backed by Iran.
Many protesters wore black to mark the days leading to Ashura, which commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohamed and one of Shiite Islam’s most important figures. Al-Sadr’s messaging to his followers has used the important day in Shiite Islam to kindle protests.
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