Emergency cabinet meeting in Kuwait after protestors storm parliament

Kuwaiti leaders held an emergency meeting on Thursday after protestors stormed the parliament late Wednesday calling for the resignation of the prime minister, a key member of the ruling Al-Sabah family. 

Reuters/Stringer

The meeting was chaired by Emir Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah who has extensive powers to dissolve parliament and sack the cabinet.

The protestors were accompanied by opposition lawmakers who have been demanding the removal of Prime Minister Sheik Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for the past several years.

They entered the main chamber of parliament and sang the national anthem before leaving.

An opposition MP said the Opposition Bloc would meet later on Thursday to assess the situation.

Pro-government MPs strongly condemned the opposition actions with one describing it as a “challenge to the status of the emir…and a step towards a coup”.