Supporters of cleric Sadr storm Baghdad’s gov’t zone again

BAGHDAD — Thousands of supporters of Shi’ite populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed Baghdad’s fortified government zone and broke into parliament on Saturday for the second time in a week, leaving at least 125 people injured and escalating a political stand-off.

Protesters rallied by Sadr and his Sadrist Movement tore down concrete barriers and entered the Green Zone, which houses government departments and foreign missions, before breaking into parliament.

“We are calling for a government free from corruption … and those are the demands of the people,” one protester, Abu Foad, said among crowds of protesters carrying placards with Sadr’s photograph and national flags.

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