"The Situation In Iraq Has Become Very Dangerous"- Iraq PM Orders Arrests As Mass Protests Continue
By Tyler Durden
Following yesterday’s dramatic escalation in Iraq’s suddenly very unstable political situation, when Beghdad was put under a state of emergency after supporters of popular Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr breached the heavily fortified Green Zone and stormed both the parliament and government offices – an event which we dubbed the collapse of the US-created political system in Iraq – the situation has continued to deteriorate.
Protesters reached the cabinet headquarters inside the Green Zone, storming the general secretariat of the cabinet building, al-Sumaria reported, citing security officials. Security has been boosted around the central bank, the Interior Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said it’s “gravely concerned” by Saturday’s developments and urged political leaders to work together to restore security in the country.
Followers of Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold a sit-in at Grand
Festivities Square within the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, May 1, 2016.
“The situation in Iraq has become very dangerous,” said Wathiq al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based political analyst said cited by Bloomberg. “No one will be able to control thousands of angry protesters while the rest of residents in Baghdad are in panic and living in real fear.”
Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for months, hindering the government’s ability to combat ISIS, which still controls much of the country’s north and west, or address a financial crisis largely prompted by the plunge in global oil prices. Sadr and his supporters want to reform the political system put in place following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, in which entrenched political blocs representing the country’s Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds rely on patronage, resulting in widespread corruption and poor public services. The major blocs have until now stymied the reform attempts of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s prime minister has ordered the arrest of protesters who attacked security forces and assaulted MPs as they stormed the country’s parliament in Baghdad Saturday. The protesters, who were responding to Sadr’s call to pressure the government to introduce reforms, left the parliament building on Saturday night and were holding a sit-in at the Saddam-era Grand Festivities Square.
“Security forces cannot force the protesters to leave the Green Zone. Therefore the only choice that is available and will help to calm down the situation is to cooperate with the protesters, not to stand against them,” an Iraqi security official told NBC on condition of anonymity.
As NBC adds, videos on social media showed a group of young men surrounding and slapping two Iraqi lawmakers as they attempted to flee the crowd on Saturday, while other protesters mobbed lawmakers’ motorcades. Jubilant protesters were also seen jumping and dancing on the parliament’s meeting hall tables and chairs and waving Iraqi flags. Amazingly, so far there has not been any notable violence or injuries.
“We are fed up, we are living a humiliated life,” Rasool Hassan, a 37-year old father of three told The Associated Press from inside the Green Zone. …read more
Source: "The Situation In Iraq Has Become Very Dangerous"- Iraq PM Orders Arrests As Mass Protests Continue
