BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraqi demonstrators stormed the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad on Wednesday in protest of the nomination of a new prime minister by Shia parties close to Iran.
Protesters forced their way into the Green Zone after removing a number of concrete barriers, the state news agency INA reported.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called on protesters to “immediately withdraw from Green Zone."
On July 25, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties close to Iran, nominated Mohammed al-Sudani as prime minister.
Al-Sudani’s nomination is opposed by firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party won last year’s general elections.
The Iraqi Parliament is scheduled to hold a session within days to elect a new president from among 25 candidates. This move is necessary to officially assign a new prime minister.
Al-Sudani's nomination is expected to be approved by the Parliament after the withdrawal of al-Sadr’s parliamentary bloc from the assembly in June.
Writing by Ahmed Asmar