Protesters storm fortified Green Zone in Baghdad

A Reuters witness said the protesters were stopped at the gate of the cabinet building but witnesses later said they had entered.

Sadr followers have been protesting for weeks demanding reforms and a new government, and had warned they would again break into the Green Zone again if progress was not made.

Demonstrators rushed toward the prime minister’s office and the parliament building in what was the second attack on the Green Zone this month.

The protesters began withdrawing from the Green Zone to Tahrir Square, but witnesses said an Interior Ministry force and unidentified gunmen opened fire there.

The violence prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi to impose a curfew across the capital until further notice.

Claims by eyewitnesses were confirmed by the military, according to an announcement on state television. Sadr did not explicitly call for Friday’s demonstration.

Following the Green Zone breach, a curfew was declared in Baghdad, Baghdad Operations Command said in a statement.

Sadr then called on his supporters to disperse although he vowed they would return if change was not enacted.

The protests come amid a turbulent political situation in Iraq where repeated attempts by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi for introducing a reform-minded cabinet have failed due to consistent differences among rival political factions.

Parliament has not convened since then, crippling government as it grapples with an economic crisis brought on by low oil prices and an Islamist insurgency that constitutes the biggest security threat to the OPEC oil producer since a US -led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The political instability in Iraq threatens to undermine the USA -backed efforts to drive Islamic State militants, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from the country.

Meanwhile, a string of deadly bombings has killed more than 200 over the past couple of weeks in and around Baghdad.