Supporters of the powerful Shia leader Moqtada Sadr have stormed a government area in the capital, Baghdad. Thousands of Iraqis are in the so-called Green Zone, where several government buildings, such as the National Assembly and Parliament, as well as embassies are located. Despite security forces using tear gas against the crowd, the protesters got through at 11.20am. Soon after, they made their way into the National Assembly. – We are here for a revolution, says protester Haydar al-Lami to AFP. Several have been killed and several have been injured, reports . Security forces used tear gas against the protesters on Saturday. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP Without a new president, Iraq is in a political crisis. Nine months have passed since Iraq elected a new national assembly last October. Nevertheless, the elected representatives have not been able to agree on who will become the country’s new president and prime minister. The president and prime minister are therefore sitting on borrowed time. The Shia leader Moqtada Sadr received the most votes during the election and controls the largest bloc in the National Assembly. His supporters have demanded that the Sadr bloc be allowed to form a government. On Wednesday this week, protesters stormed the national assembly in the country. Even then they had entered the green zone. The demonstrators are dissatisfied with the country’s political leadership, which is sitting on borrowed time and has not elected a new president and prime minister. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP
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