Rival camps of demonstrators stage counterprotest in Baghdad

Rival Shia groups in Iraq are holding mass demonstrations within close proximity in Baghdad, as the country remains in the grip of political deadlock. Thousands of demonstrators opposed to Iraq's powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have gathered outside the fortified government Green Zone, where Al Sadr's supporters are occupying Iraq's parliament. Al Sadr's followers, who are demanding early elections, oppose a rival pick for prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.