Hundreds of protesters, mostly supporters of Iraq’s Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, are storming the heavily fortified Green Zone to protest a rival bloc’s bid for prime minister. Hundreds of Iraqi protesters, most of them followers of Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, stormed the parliament building in Baghdad to protest the appointment of a prime minister by Iranian-backed parties. No lawmakers were present in parliament when protesters stormed the capital’s high-security Green Zone, home to government buildings and diplomatic missions, on Wednesday. Only security forces were inside the building and appeared to allow the protesters to enter with relative ease. The protesters oppose the candidacy of Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, a former minister and former governor of the province, who is the choice of the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework for prime minister. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Qadimi called on protesters to “withdraw immediately” from the Green Zone. In a statement, he warned that security forces would ensure “the protection of state institutions and foreign missions and prevent any harm to security and order.” Al Sadr’s bloc won 73 seats in Iraq’s October 2021 elections, making it the largest faction in the 329-seat parliament. But after the vote, talks to form a new government have stalled and al-Sadr has withdrawn from the political process. Supporters of al-Sadr protest inside the parliament building in Baghdad [Ahmed Saad/Reuters] Protesters on Wednesday carried portraits of the Shiite leader. Riot police earlier used water cannons to push back protesters who tore down concrete walls. But many breached the gates of the region. Protesters marched down the main street of the Green Belt, with dozens gathering outside the doors of the parliament building. The police gathered at the doors of the main gates. Protesters crowded around two entrances to the Green Belt, with some scaling the concrete wall and chanting: “Al-Sudani, out!” Al Sudani was chosen by Rule of Law leader and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Before Al-Sudani faces parliament to be officially nominated as prime minister, the parties must first choose a president. Al-Sadr walked out of talks to form a government after he was unable to gather enough lawmakers to get the majority needed to elect Iraq’s next president. Replacing his lawmakers, the Plaisio leader pushed to form the next government. Many fear that doing so also opens the door to street protests organized by al-Sadr’s core supporters and instability.
“Dangerous Game”
Yerevan Said of the Gulf Arab Institute told Al Jazeera that al-Sadr through the protests wanted to show his opponents that he was still “politically relevant”. “Obviously, it’s a very dangerous game. It could plunge the country into intra-Shiite civil strife,” he said from Washington. In 2016, supporters of al-Sadr stormed parliament in a similar fashion. They staged a sit-in and demanded political reform after then-Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tried to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats in an anti-corruption drive. Political turmoil has left Iraq without a budget for 2022, delaying spending on much-needed infrastructure projects and economic reforms. Iraqis say the situation is exacerbating a lack of services and jobs, even though Baghdad is earning record oil income due to high crude prices and has seen no major war since the defeat of Islamic State five years ago.
