BAGHDAD: Hundreds of fans of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr broke into the Iraqi Parliament building in Baghdad to protest against the nomination of Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani for the post of Prime Minister.

The riot police used tear gas canisters and warning shots to disperse the protesters, but there were no conflicts between protesters and security forces, said an Interior Ministry source quoted by Xinhua.

Many videos shown on TV and social media showed dozens of protesters inside the Parliament building waving Iraqi flags and screaming chants in support of Moqtada al-Sadr. In a statement, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi urged the demonstrators to leave the building immediately. In a late-night tweet, Al-Sadr urged demonstrators to halt their protest "Your message has been sent... Return to your houses safely ".

The demonstration began two days after Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani was nominated by the Coordination Framework, an umbrella organisation of Shia parliamentary parties.

The Coordination Framework became the largest alliance in the Iraqi Parliament after al-Sadr ordered his Sadrist Movement supporters, who won the most seats in the October 10, 2021 elections, to retire from Parliament. 

Continuing conflicts among Shiite groups have hindered the establishment of a new Iraqi government in recent months, since Parliament has been unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat Parliament required by the constitution. If elected, the President would pick the prime minister proposed by the Coordination Framework, Parliament's largest alliance, to create a new government that will govern the country for the next four years.

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