After the occupation of Iraq’s parliament, many more protesters poured into the high-security zone in the capital, Baghdad. Hundreds of followers of the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr arrived from other parts of the country today, eyewitnesses reported. Meanwhile, more and more security forces were stationed in the highly secured Green Zone.
With the sit-in in parliament, Sadr’s supporters want to put pressure on politicians and prevent the Shiite party alliance around former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki from forming a government, which primarily sympathizes with neighboring Iran. Almost ten months after the general election, the oil-rich country is in a stalemate. Acting Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi once again called on the political camps to engage in dialogue.