UPDATE - 10 protesters killed amid unrest in Iraq

UPDATES WITH PRIME MINISTER'S STATEMENT

BAGHDAD (AA) - Ten protesters were killed on Monday after supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the Republican Palace, the seat of the Iraqi government in Baghdad, according to local media.

More than 150 protesters were also injured in the unrest, the local Baghdad Today website said citing a security source.

Following the announcement of the deaths, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered an urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incidents in Baghdad.

According to a statement by the prime minister's media office, al-Kadhimi, as commander-in-chief of the military, ordered a ban on discharging firearms towards protesters.

The statement stressed that security forces were responsible for protecting the protesters and that any violations against al-Kadhimi's orders would be met with "legal accountability."

Al-Kadhimi also urged Iraqis to abide by a nationwide curfew and instructions from the security apparatus.

The situation deteriorated in Baghdad earlier Monday after al-Sadr said he was quitting politics for good.

The Republican Palace is in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government agencies and several foreign diplomatic missions.

Armed clashes erupted between al-Sadr loyalists and supporters of the rival Coordination Framework, an Iran-linked umbrella of Shia powers, according to eyewitnesses.

Iraqi authorities declared a nationwide curfew in an attempt to quell the unrest. Iraqi parties have been unable to form a new government since the last elections on Oct. 10, 2021.

*Writing by Mahmoud Baraka and Ahmed Asmar