Iraq protests: PM Haider al-Abadi orders arrest of parliament protesters

Iraq's Prime Minister has ordered the arrest of Shia Muslim activists who stormed parliament in Baghdad on Saturday.

Haider al-Abadi said those who caused damage and attacked police should be brought to justice.

The demonstrators, supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, were angered by delays in approving a new cabinet.

They are now camped out near parliament, demanding a change in government.
Protesters have accused the government of neglecting much-needed reforms, as it struggles with its campaign against the so-called Islamic State group and declining oil revenues.

IS, a Sunni Muslim group that controls parts of western and northern Iraq, claimed a twin suicide bombing on Sunday that killed at least 33 people and wounded more than 50 in the southern town of Samawa.

Many Iraqis believe the crisis has unveiled deep divisions between the Shia political parties that could lead to armed confrontation between some of the Shia brigades which were formed after the collapse of large units of the Iraqi army in the summer of 2014.

Leaders of these powerful Shia brigades have ordered reinforcements to Baghdad to help secure the capital, along with the Iraqi army and security forces.

In parliament, some leading Shia parties have locked horns over their share in the new cabinet line-up. Many prominent Shia politicians, like former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, are highly critical of Shia cleric-turned-politician Moqtada Sadr. Mr Maliki said change could not be achieved through "intimidation or the occupation of the Green Zone". Many Shia Iraqis see Mr Sadr as a leader for their uprising.

The fear of a rift between Shia factions rift will stoke instability in Iraq, which is already at war with IS. And the crisis will alarm key allies like the US, which count on a stable, strong government to defeat IS.

Supporters of Mr Sadr want MPs to push through plans to replace ministers with political affiliations with non-partisan technocrats.

Powerful parties in parliament have refused to approve the change for several weeks.
'We need new faces'

Mr Abadi issued his arrest order after touring the Green Zone on Saturday. The zone, a highly fortified area 10 sq km (3.9 sq miles) in size, is home to key government buildings and foreign embassies.

It is ringed by blast walls, some of which were toppled by the protesters as they breached the zone for the first time in weeks of civil unrest.

There are no indications that any actual arrests have taken place.

Saturday's occupation of parliament came after MPs again failed to reach a quorum to vote on the cabinet changes.

After the protest, demonstrators set up camp outside the parliament, and many were still there on Sunday.

"We need new faces not the old ones," female protester Shatha Jumaa, a 58-year-old surgeon who described herself as a secularist, told the Associated Press news agency.

She said she wanted the current government dissolved and replaced by a small interim administration whose job would be to amend the constitution and to prepare for an early national election.

Corruption burden

Mr Abadi, who came to power in 2014, has promised to stamp out corruption and ease sectarian tensions.

Iraq's system of sharing government jobs has long been criticised for promoting unqualified candidates and encouraging corruption.

The government is carefully balanced between party and religious loyalties but the country ranks 161st of 168 on corruption watchdog Transparency International's corruption perceptions index.

Few details were immediately available about the double bombing in Samawa. Police say the blasts came within minutes of each other, the first outside a local government office, the second at a bus station.

IS said it had targeted police in the town.

The country has been riven for years by deadly sectarian violence between the Shia majority and Sunnis.

Who is Moqtada Sadr?

The Shia cleric and his militia group, the Mehdi Army, gained prominence after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. galvanising anti-US sentiment.

Mr Sadr's followers clashed repeatedly with US forces, whose withdrawal the cleric consistently demanded.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Sadr in 2004 in connection with the murder of a rival cleric.

His militia was also blamed for the torture and killing of thousands of Sunnis in the sectarian carnage of 2006 and 2007. Mr Sadr fled to Iran during that period.

In 2011, Mr Sadr returned from his self-imposed exile to Iraq, taking a more conciliatory tone and calling for Iraqi unity and peace.