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Iraqi Troops Use Tear Gas Against Green-Zone Protesters

April 30, 2016
by RFE/RL

Iraqi security forces have fired tear gas and warning shots in a bid to contain an aggressive demonstration in the secure Green Zone in the capital, Baghdad.

Hundreds of supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed into the Green Zone on April 30, with some of them occupying the parliament building and the nearby cabinet headquarters.

The protesters stormed the Green Zone after lawmakers refused to hold a vote on reforming the government. Some television reports appeared to show protesters breaking furniture in the parliament building.

It was an unprecedented security breach, although the Green Zone frequently came under mortar attacks during the country's occupation by U.S.-led coalition forces.

Iraqi security forces were deployed to protect embassies, government buildings, and other sensitive objects in the area. Security forces did not try to prevent the protesters from entering the parliament building.

Troops have also blocked roads leading into the center of the city to prevent more protesters from reaching the area.

In a televised address from Najaf, Sadr announced a two-month withdrawal from public life and said he was "waiting for the great popular uprising and the major revolution to stop the march of the corrupt."

Local television showed Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi walking inside the zone with security guards in order to dispel earlier reports that he had fled to a secure location elsewhere.

The United Nations said it is "gravely concerned" about the protests. The UN's Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is located in the Green Zone.

EU foreign affairs chief Frederica Mogherini criticized the protests, saying they "risk to further destabilize an already tense situation."

Sadr supporters have been demonstrating for several weeks to pressure Abadi to carry out promised reforms. Some parliamentary parties, however, are resisting Abadi's efforts to replace some officials -- who were chosen to maintain sectarian and ethnic balances -- with technocrats.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/baghdad- protesters-storm-green-zone/27708709.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.