At least 26 people were injured on Saturday during a day of protest organized by opponents of the outgoing regime, according to a security source.
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Iraq in full political crisis. Hundreds of supporters of the influential Shiite political leader Moqtada Sadr invaded the Iraqi Parliament on Saturday July 30, after entering the ultra-secure green zone of Baghdad. They announced their intention to occupy the building until further notice.
Brandishing Iraqi flags, portraits of Moqtada Sadr and flags with religious insignia, they entered the hemicycle, making the sign of victory and taking selfies, in a good-natured atmosphere. Already on Wednesday, demonstrators had briefly occupied Parliament.
In the morning, several thousand demonstrators had climbed concrete blocks erected to block access to a bridge in Baghdad. At the entrance to the green zone, the security forces fired tear gas to drive away the protesters and water cannons were activated. Gas was also thrown at protesters trying to get to the green zone via another bridge, according to a security source.
In total, at least 26 demonstrators were injured, choking because of the gas or falling from the high concrete barriers erected to hinder the advance of the protesters, said a security source. And 17 members of the security forces were hit by stones thrown by the demonstrators, according to the same source.
The political deadlock is total in Iraq, which is still awaiting the appointment of a new president and a prime minister, ten months after the October 2021 legislative elections. Kingmaker and troublemaker on the political scene, Moqtada Sadr launched a campaign of maximum pressure against his adversaries, rejecting their candidate for the post of head of government.
The demonstrators denounce the candidacy for the post of Prime Minister of Mohamed Chia Al-Soudani, considered close to the former head of government Nouri Al-Maliki, historical enemy of Moqtada Sadr.