Iraqi protesters breach Green Zone

Protesters in Baghdad have breached the Green Zone and stormed parliament, in a major escalation in the country's political crisis.

Hundreds of protesters have climbed over the blast walls surrounding Baghdad's highly-fortified Green Zone and stormed into parliament, carrying Iraqi flags and chanting against the government.

The breach marked a major escalation in the country's political crisis following months of anti-government protests, sit-ins and demonstrations by supporters of influential Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The Green Zone is home to most ministries and foreign embassies and has long been the focus of al-Sadr's criticism of the government.

Earlier on Saturday, al-Sadr accused Iraqi politicians of blocking political reforms aimed at combating corruption and waste.

While al-Sadr didn't call for an escalation to the protests, shortly after his remarks his supporters began scaling the compound's walls.

A group of young men then pulled down a section of concrete blast walls to cheers from the crowd of thousands gathered in the streets outside.

Mobile phone video uploaded to social media showed dozens of young men running through the halls of parliament, chanting slogans in support of al-Sadr and calling for the government to disband.

"We are all with you (al-Sadr)," one group of men yelled as the entered the building's main chamber.

Earlier on Saturday, a bombing in a market filled with Shi'ite civilians in Baghdad killed at least 21 people and wounded at least 42 others, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

IS claimed the attack, saying it used a three-ton truck bomb.


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Source: AAP



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