Iraqi PM orders arrest of parliament protesters

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, has ordered the arrest of Shia Muslim activists who stormed parliament in Baghdad on Saturday.

Al-Abadi said those who caused damage and attacked police should be brought to justice.

The demonstrators, supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, were angered by delays in approving a new cabinet.

They are now camped out near parliament, demanding a change in government.

Protesters have accused the government of neglecting much-needed reforms, as it struggles with its campaign against the so-called Islamic State group and declining oil revenues.

IS, a Sunni Muslim group that controls parts of western and northern Iraq, claimed a twin suicide bombing yesterday that killed at least 33 people and wounded more than 50 in the southern town of Samawa.