Iraq Iran Parliament Ruckus
Highlights
- Protesters enter Iraq’s parliament again
- People creating ruckus at the behest of Maulvi
- Protesters are supporters of Shia cleric al-Sadr
Iraq Iran News: There is a lot of mention of Iran in Iraq at this time. And there is a lot of commotion going on about this. People not only made a lot of noise to register their protest, but they went straight to the Parliament of the country to protest. This is the second time the incident of people reaching the Parliament has happened. The news is that thousands of supporters of an influential Shia cleric in Iraq entered the country’s parliament building on Saturday. This is the second such incident within a week. They are opposing attempts by Iran-backed groups to form a government. Meanwhile, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shia political parties, has called for retaliation, raising fears of a civil war in Iraq.
Iraqi security forces initially fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, and several people were injured in the action. On entering the Parliament building, the protesters claimed that they would not leave till their demands were answered. Parliament was not in session on Saturday, so there was no MP there. As of noon, the health ministry said around 125 people had been injured in the violence, including 100 civilians and 25 security personnel. Earlier in the day, at the appeal of cleric Muktada al-Sadr, demonstrators used rope to demolish cement barricades near the gates of Iraq’s Green Zone. There are government buildings and embassies in the green zone.
There was uproar in 2016 too
The protesters are supporters of influential Shia cleric al-Sadr. Al-Sadr has called for demonstrations by Iran-backed political groups against the formation of the next government. Sadr’s supporters did the same thing in 2016 under the administration of then-prime minister Haider al-Abidi. It is noteworthy that on Wednesday also hundreds of supporters of al-Sadr entered the parliament building. In the evening on Saturday, the coalition in a statement appealed to its supporters to protest peacefully to save the country, which is expected to lead to massive street bloodshed.
At the same time, in a statement, the United Nations expressed concern over increasing instability in Iraq and appealed to Iraqi leaders to reduce tension. Meanwhile, supporters of al-Sadr from not only Baghdad but also from other parts of Iraq continue to throng the parliament building. They raised slogans against foreign interference. His point is probably towards Iran. Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has instructed security forces to protect the protesters and called on the protesters to hold a peaceful demonstration.
Iraq was attacked in the past
Attacks and tensions in Iraq have flourished for many other reasons as well. The UN special envoy told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Iraq and Turkey are ready for a joint investigation into the attack in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. On July 20, nine Iraqi tourists were killed and 33 others were injured in an artillery attack in Iraq. Iraq had blamed Turkey for the attack, but Ankara has denied any involvement in it. Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Monday that there was a need for an independent or jointly transparent investigation into the attack, said UN special envoy for Iraq Jeanne Hennis-Plaschert.
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