Iraq’s Sadrists storm republican palace amid political crisis

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command has set a full curfew in the capital of Baghdad, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. local time, state news agency INA reported on Monday.

This comes as dozens of supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Monday stormed the Republican Palace, a ceremonial building inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone of government buildings, a security source said.

Angry protesters “entered the Republican Palace” shortly after al-Sadr said he was quitting politics, the source said, with several thousand other al-Sadr loyalists heading towards the Green Zone, an AFP journalist reported.

On Tuesday, the Sadrists also pitched tents outside the gates of the judicial body’s headquarters in Baghdad for several hours.

The judiciary, in its ruling on Sunday, said “the Supreme Judicial Council has no jurisdiction to dissolve parliament,” citing “the principle of a separation of powers.”

Under the constitution, parliament can only be dissolved by an absolute majority vote in the house, following a request by one-third of deputies or by the prime minister with the approval of the president.

Nearly 10 months on from the last elections, Iraq still has no government, new prime minister or new president, due to disagreement between factions over forming a coalition.