Protesters storms green zone,iraqi parliament in reaction to a shiite's cleric speech

Protesters inflamed by a Shiite cleric's speech about government inaction and corruption stormed the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad on Saturday and invaded the Iraqi Parliament building.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters walked and ran freely around the Green Zone, a normally off-limits area housing government buildings and foreign embassies, according to images broadcast on state-run news channel Al-Iraqiya.

Protesters again stormed a monument inside the Green Zone, where Saddam's swords are featured despite efforts by the Iraqi security forces to stop them.

Several people were injured in the confrontations, including two Iraqi security forces, according to Kurdish television network Rudaw.

The chaos erupted hours before Iraqi party leaders were due to arrive for meetings in the Presidential Palace within the Green Zone.

Despite ongoing confrontations Sunday morning, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has arrived at the palace for the talks, Rudaw said.

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Inside the Parliament building, they waved Iraqi flags, ransacked rooms, chanted, gestured for cameras and sat at lawmakers' desks.

"The cowards ran away," they chanted, referring to Parliament members who'd gathered there earlier. The Prime Minister had been scheduled to announce a new Cabinet on Saturday but didn't because of lack of a quorum.

No large-scale violence has been reported, although Hoshiar Abdullah, a Kurdish member of Parliament, told Rudaw that the deputy speaker and five other Kurdish lawmakers were trapped inside the building and had been attacked by protesters who also smashed their cars.

Iraqi security forces used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to break into the Green Zone from the southern gate, the entrance closest to the U.S. Embassy.