Iraqi Prime Minister Vows Reforms After Protests

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other political leaders promised on Sunday to deliver on radical reforms and stem a deepening crisis as protesters held an unprecedented sit-in inside Baghdad's heavily fortified government district.

The Green Zone, a 10-square-kilometre district on the banks of the Tigris River which also houses many foreign embassies, has been off-limits to most Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

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Iraq has endured months of wrangling prompted by Abadi's attempt to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats as part of an anti-corruption drive. A divided parliament has failed to approve the proposal amid scuffles and protests.

Deep frustration among Iraqis over the deadlock culminated in a dramatic breach on Saturday of the Green Zone by supporters of powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Sadr wants to see Abadi's proposed technocrat government approved, ending a quota system that its opponents say has encouraged corruption. Powerful parties have resisted, fearing the dismantling of patronage networks that have sustained the political elite's wealth and influence for more than a decade.

Abadi has warned continued turmoil could hamper the war against Islamic State, which controls vast swathes of northern and western Iraq.

He convened a high-level meeting on Sunday with Iraq's president, parliament speaker and political bloc leaders. Former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who heads the Dawa Party, and representatives of Sadr were not there, a politician who attended told Reuters.

In a statement from the presidential residence published after the meeting, the leaders said meetings would continue in coming days "to ensure radical reforms of the political process."

They also called the breach of the Green Zone "a dangerous infringement of the state's prestige and a blatant constitutional violation that must be prosecuted."

Two suicide car bombs claimed by Islamic State killed at least 32 people and wounded 75 others on Sunday in the center of the southern city of Samawa, police and medics said.