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Iraq state of emergency as protesters camp outside parliament
The Irish Times ^ | updated 5/1/2016 | unattributed

Posted on 05/01/2016 7:16:48 AM PDT by thoughtomator

Hundreds of supporters of a powerful Shia Muslim cleric camped outside parliament in Baghdad overnight a day after thousands stormed the Green Zone and entered the parliament building, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency.

Hundreds of people gathered in protest at the failure of Iraqi MPs to convene for a vote to approve new ministers. The unrest comes after weeks of political turmoil in Baghdad over efforts by the prime minister Haider al-Abadi, to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats. MPs failed to reach a quorum to approve the measures on Saturday.

On Saturday the protesters broke into the area Green Zone, home to embassies and government buildings after crossing a bridge over the Tigris river chanting: “The cowards ran away.”

There are reports that Security forces used tear gas and fired warning shots but there were not significant clashes. Around a dozen people were wounded, police sources said.

The protestors are Supporters of Moqtada Sadr and want a new government.

A United Nations spokesman and Western diplomats based inside the Green Zone said their compounds were locked down. A US embassy spokesman denied reports of evacuation.

Iraqi security personnel and Mr Sadr’s militiamen formed a joint force to control protesters’ movement, according to a source in Mr Sadr’s office. Most protesters had evacuated parliament and some were preparing for a sit-in in its courtyard, he added.

All entrances of Baghdad have been shut “as a precautionary measure to maintain the capital’s security,” another security official said.

(Excerpt) Read more at irishtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: greenzone; iraq; moqtadasadr

1 posted on 05/01/2016 7:16:49 AM PDT by thoughtomator
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To: thoughtomator

Gigantic mistake letting that fat scum Sadr walk the earth.


2 posted on 05/01/2016 7:22:59 AM PDT by Paine in the Neck ( Socialism consumes EVERYTHING!)
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To: thoughtomator
Obama lost Iraq. Obama lost the economy. ObamaCare lost the insurance companies. Obama’s legacy? EPIC FAILURE!
3 posted on 05/01/2016 9:25:23 AM PDT by Chgogal (Obama "hung the SEALs out to dry, basically exposed them like a set of dog balls..." CMH)
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To: Paine in the Neck
You win wars by being brutal. Letting that tub of Sadr free to be Iran's butt boy was a huge mistakes.
4 posted on 05/01/2016 9:27:47 AM PDT by Chgogal (Obama "hung the SEALs out to dry, basically exposed them like a set of dog balls..." CMH)
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To: Chgogal

We lost Iraq the moment we set foot in it.

We lost the economy when the Federal Reserve was not only permitted to go rogue, but got cheered for it.

The insurance companies largely wrote the very legislation they are suffering under; they got killed largely by their own greed.

Obama is only a part of the problem, and a relatively small part at that. The overall system is beyond repair and that has been the work of decades and both parties are fully up to their necks in it.

Without a Boehner and a Ryan to work with, Obama would have been able to do very little.


5 posted on 05/01/2016 9:48:44 AM PDT by thoughtomator
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To: Paine in the Neck

Yes it was. Is he on isis side?


6 posted on 05/01/2016 10:03:21 AM PDT by ColdOne (poochie... Tasha 2000~3/14/11 HillaryForPrison2016)
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