Security forces in Baghdad prepare for renewed protests
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 11:56 amIraqi security forces blocked two of the main bridges leading to the Green Zone following Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s call for protests after Friday prayers.
Sadr’s press office issued a statement on Friday (May 6) calling on Iraqis to peacefully demonstrate after the weekly Friday prayers.
An NRT correspondent in Baghdad said security forces had blocked the roads leading to Sinak and Republic Bridges in Baghdad. A security source said the bridges were closed on Friday due to security measures to preserve the safety of the city.
A large number of security forces have been deployed in and around the Green Zone to protect the security of the area, where demonstrators stormed parliament last week.
Iraq has endured months of wrangling prompted by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's attempt to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats as part of an anti-corruption drive.
Hundreds of protesters broke into Baghdad’s Green Zone and forced entry into the Iraqi Parliament building on April 30, after parliament failed to hold a session to vote on nominees for the new cabinet.
The demonstrators, mostly supporters of Sadr, withdrew from the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, on May 1, after storming the parliament building in the culmination of months of sit-ins and demonstrations calling for political reform.
Sadr’s press office issued a statement on Friday (May 6) calling on Iraqis to peacefully demonstrate after the weekly Friday prayers.
An NRT correspondent in Baghdad said security forces had blocked the roads leading to Sinak and Republic Bridges in Baghdad. A security source said the bridges were closed on Friday due to security measures to preserve the safety of the city.
A large number of security forces have been deployed in and around the Green Zone to protect the security of the area, where demonstrators stormed parliament last week.
Iraq has endured months of wrangling prompted by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's attempt to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats as part of an anti-corruption drive.
Hundreds of protesters broke into Baghdad’s Green Zone and forced entry into the Iraqi Parliament building on April 30, after parliament failed to hold a session to vote on nominees for the new cabinet.
The demonstrators, mostly supporters of Sadr, withdrew from the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, on May 1, after storming the parliament building in the culmination of months of sit-ins and demonstrations calling for political reform.
