Protesters took to the streets and stormed a concrete barricade in Baghdad on Saturday in support of influential populist Shiite cleric, Muqtada al Sadr.

The protesters climbed and destabilized several sections of a large concrete barrier surrounding the Green Zone Area, which cordons off government buildings and foreign embassies.

They then made their way along the highway after helping each other scale the obstacle.

Security personnel were also in attendance in the area.

Mass mobilization and control is a well-worn strategy of al-Sadr, a mercurial figure who has emerged as a powerful force in Iraq’s cutthroat political scene with a nationalist, anti-Iran agenda.

Although al-Sadr’s alliance won the most seats in October’s parliamentary election, squabbling political parties failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pick a president -- an important step before the prime minister can be selected.

After the negotiations bogged down, al-Sadr withdrew his bloc from parliament and announced he was exiting talks on forming a government.

Nearly 10 months after national elections were held, Iraq has been unable to form a new government. That's the longest period since the 2003 U.S. invasion that reset the political order.

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