Iraq tensions soar as protesters rally against parliament occupation
Baghdad, Iraq – (AFP):
Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad Monday in counter-protests as rival supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr extended their occupation of parliament into a third day.
Almost 10 months after Iraqis went to the polls, a political standoff pits two key factions of the Shiite political scene, between the populist Sadr with a devoted following of millions, and the powerful pro-Iran Coordination Framework which includes lawmakers from the party of Sadr’s longtime foe, ex-prime minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Sadr’s supporters on Saturday breached the normally high-security Green Zone — also home to government buildings and embassies — in protest at a prime ministerial nomination by the Coordination Framework.
In multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraq, government formation has involved complex negotiations since a 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
In this case, the protracted political deadlock has left the country without a government, a new prime minister or a new president.
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