Sadr supporters storm Iraqi parliament again, more than 100 injured – Xinhua English.news.cn

Thousands of supporters of Iraqi Shiite religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the National Assembly again on July 30. The demonstrators faced off with security forces and at least 125 people were injured.

Sadr’s supporters entered the heavily fortified “Green Zone” in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the central government and foreign embassies are located, before storming into parliament. This is the second time in a week that Sadr supporters have stormed parliament.

At least 100 demonstrators and 25 members of the security forces were injured, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health.

Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammad Halebsi announced the suspension of all parliamentary meetings. In a televised speech, Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi urged all political factions to avoid deteriorating the situation, “not to turn into conflict and ensure Iraq’s security”, calling on all parties to “sit down and negotiate and reach an agreement”.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq expressed concern over the continued escalation of the situation. The spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement on the 30th that the Secretary-General called on all parties to overcome differences and form a government through “peaceful and inclusive dialogue”. “This cannot be delayed any longer.”

Iraq held parliamentary elections in October last year, but the candidates for the president and prime minister have so far been undecided, and a new government has yet to be formed, resulting in a political deadlock. The Sadr movement became the largest faction in parliament in last year’s parliamentary elections.

According to Iraq’s post-war sectarian decentralization model, the president is held by a Kurd, and the prime minister and speaker are held by Islamic Shiites and Sunnis respectively. In the Shiite camp, Sadr’s political opponent, the party led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and two other factions intend to elect Mohammad Sultani as the new prime minister, but Sadr has opposed it. All members of the “Sadr Movement” collectively resigned in June this year.