Iraqi PM vows to prevent another Green Zone breach, sacks security chief

BAGHDAD: Iraq´s prime minister vowed on Thursday to prevent another breach of Baghdad´s Green Zone, hours before a planned protest by followers of a senior cleric, hundreds of whom stormed the fortified complex last week.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi´s promise came just a day after he sacked Green Zone security chief, Lieutenant-General Mohammed Ridha, replacing him with Major General Kareem Abboud al-Tamimi, sources said.

Ridha had appeared in videos kissing Sadr´s hand as he entered Baghdad´s Green Zone and began a sit-in in March.

"Changes have been carried out in the security system and plans were in place to protect constitutional institutions and prevent the recurrence of what happened recently," Abadi said in a speech on state television.

Last Tuesday, supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the Green Zone and broke into the parliament building, attacking deputies and demanding reforms to a political quota system blamed for rampant corruption.

Sadr wants to see Abadi´s proposed technocrat government approved but powerful parties within parliament have resisted, fearing the dismantling of patronage networks that sustain their wealth and influence.