Status: 07/30/2022 1:11 p.m
Supporters of the Shiite leader al Sadr have once again stormed the Iraqi parliament to protest against the prime ministerial candidate. Many people were injured in clashes with the police.
In the Iraqi capital Baghdad, demonstrators broke into the parliament building and prevented a meeting of MPs. As eyewitnesses reported, security forces tried to push back the numerous supporters of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr in the heavily secured Green Zone with tear gas and sound bombs. According to the Ministry of Health, around 60 people were injured.
Numerous government institutions and the Iraqi parliament as well as several embassies, including the US diplomatic mission, are located in the approximately ten square kilometer Green Zone in the center of Baghdad.
Protest against Prime Minister candidates
Sadr supporters had already entered the secured zone on Wednesday and stormed the parliament. Television images showed people in the plenary hall waving the Iraqi flag before withdrawing a short time later. Among other things, they demonstrated against the nomination of former minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani for the post of prime minister. This was proposed by ex-Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his alliance, which sympathizes with neighboring Iran.
Both Shia camps see each other as opponents. A power struggle has been raging in Iraq since the parliamentary elections in October 2021. Sadr’s list had won the most seats at the time and was trying to form a government. Most recently, however, he and his party resigned from parliament. The formation of the government has since reached a dead end.
Political and economic crisis
Some observers interpreted the withdrawal from politics as a move to put parties and politicians under pressure with mass protests. Many Iraqis have little faith in politics – the oil-rich country has been struggling with economic and political crises for years.