ASSESSMENTS

Iraq Braces for Protests in the Capital

Mar 18, 2016 | 00:11 GMT

Iraq Braces for Protests in the Capital
Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, shown here during a February demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, has set up an 11-day sit-in, citing the need for government reform.

(AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has organized a sit-in that will take place March 18 near Baghdad's Green Zone. The objective of the protest, like many before it, is to end government corruption and replace members of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Cabinet with technocrat ministers. In response, the government has deployed unusually large numbers of troops to the area near the Green Zone. The clashes that are likely to result between security forces and protesters could split the country's Shiite community and provoke more calls for the prime minister to step down....

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