At least 13 people have been injured as Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and gunshots at hundreds of protesters who overwhelmed them and stormed Baghdad’s heavily secured Green Zone.
The protesters rushed toward the prime minister’s office and the parliament building on Friday.
They initially faced tough resistance from forces guarding the premier’s office but some were able to muscle past and enter the premises.
Protesters have reportedly reached the general secretariat of the ministers’ council building in the green zone while others were reported to have gathered around parliament building.
Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have been protesting for months to demand reforms and an end to corruption.
They had encountered relatively little resistance when they pulled down slabs of blast walls surrounding the Green Zone last month and were able to enter the main parliament building.
The breach of the Green Zone – which is also home to the prime minister’s office as well as the US and several other embassies – further deepened the country’s political crisis.
