Iraq parliament staff resume work after weeks-long hiatus

Baghdad: Staff at Iraq’s parliament returned to work Sunday for the first time since powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr’s supporters stormed the legislature in late July, an assembly official said.

The development came as speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi suggested an agenda for an upcoming national dialogue session following an 11-month political paralysis that sparked deadly clashes in Baghdad last week.

"All parliament staff have returned to work," following orders issued on Saturday night, the parliament official told AFP, on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. "Operations in parliament had been suspended since protesters stormed the legislature’s building," he said.