A Day in Baghdad’s Green Zone: Popular Anger and Political Deadlock in Iraq (Chérine Chams El-Dine, Arab Reform Initiative)

Photos and videos of Iraqi protesters pulling down the concrete walls of the fortified Green Zone before storming the Parliament’s building, and those of Iraqi lawmakers and politicians, scared of the crowds, fleeing in luxury cars or crossing the Tigris River by boat to find refuge, made the headlines on Saturday, 30 April 2016. The crowds left the Green Zone on Sunday following a statement issued by the protests’ organising committee and distributed by the office of Muqtada al-Sadr – leader of the Sadrist Movement – whose followers massively participated in the Green Zone breach. While damage to public property was negligible and few lawmakers were attacked or intimidated by the protesters, the 30 April events will certainly have a huge impact on the already shaky political process in Iraq

http://www.arab-reform.net/day-baghdad%E2%80%99s-green-zone-popular-anger-and-political-deadlock-iraq