REUTERS
Iraqi authorities declared a state of emergency in Baghdad on Saturday after hundreds of demonstrators chanting and waving Iraqi flags breached the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital and stormed parliament, USA Today reported.
Protesters, who have been holding demonstrations and sit-ins for months to demand political reforms, erupted after lawmakers again failed to reach a quorum to take up new ministerial appointments, USA Today reports.
Chanting and waving Iraqi flags, demonstrators jumped over the blast barricades and poured into the Green Zone, which is home to government ministries, parliament and embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, according to the report.
It is the first time that demonstrators, despite months of protests in the Iraqi capital, have breached the zone, the Associated Press reports.