ERBIL — Supporters of Shia militias who are not satisfied with the Iraqi parliamentary elections results took to the streets in Diyala and halted transportation between Baghdad and Kirkuk.
Photographs show several dozens of protesters in Khalis subdistrict of Diyala province, burning tires on a highway connecting the capital city to the northern provinces.
“The protest has caused a massive traffic jam near Khalis because the highway is one of the main roads with a huge daily traffic,” BasNews reporter said from the area.
The political wings of Iran-backed militias performed significantly low in the recent elections. Some of them, whom are known as anti-West armed groups, accuse the Iraqi Electoral Commission of fraud.
Similar protests, in some cases even violent demonstrations, were reported on Saturday in Baghdad, Basra, Diwaniyah, Muthanna provinces.
Iraqi security forces earlier today closed all the entrance gates of the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad after supporters of Fatah Alliance, led by Hadi al-Ameri, announced protests near the area in the afternoon. The biggest winner of the election in Iraq was the Sadrist Movement which has won 73 seats. In the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) emerged victorious with 33 seats, more than double of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which takes the second place in Kurdistan.
Soon after the election, Sadr said the militias operating outside the control of the state, should be dissolved. This has concerned the Hashd al-Shaabi militia groups who fear losing influence on Iraq’s political landscape if they lose arms.