Trouble in the south

Monday's events broke out in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified neighbourhood in the heart of Baghdad.

But it wasn't long until the discord spread south to Shia-majority provinces where both Sadr and his Iranian-backed rivals enjoy huge support.

The headquarters of many pro-Iran armed factions, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataeb Hezbollah in Baghdad, Diwaniyah and Basra were torched, targeted with mortar bombs or simply shot at.

According to local media, Sadr's supporters also stormed the provincial government building in the southern Dhi Qar governorate. They also reportedly did the same in the Wasit and Maysan governorates - graffiti adorning the Maysan governorate building appeared to read "closed by the order of the people".

In Basra, Sadrist demonstrators burned tyres and set up roadblocks. They also stormed government buildings in other southern cities, such as Nasiriyah and Hillah.