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Iraq death toll rises as police open fire on protesters in Baghdad | |
(32 minutes later) | |
The death toll from days of violent demonstrations across Iraq has risen to 44 as unrest rapidly spread across the country despite a plea for calm from the prime minister. | The death toll from days of violent demonstrations across Iraq has risen to 44 as unrest rapidly spread across the country despite a plea for calm from the prime minister. |
In an overnight TV address, Adel Abdul-Mahdi said he understood the frustration of the public but that there was no “magic solution” to Iraq’s problems. He pledged to make reforms, but this drew a scornful response from demonstrators. | |
The violent protests have escalated by the day since they first erupted on Tuesday, sweeping across the country spontaneously without public backing from any organised political group and taking the authorities by surprise. | The violent protests have escalated by the day since they first erupted on Tuesday, sweeping across the country spontaneously without public backing from any organised political group and taking the authorities by surprise. |
Security forces have fired live ammunition at crowds of mainly young men, and gunmen have occasionally fired back. Hundreds of people have been wounded, including members of the security forces as well as demonstrators. | Security forces have fired live ammunition at crowds of mainly young men, and gunmen have occasionally fired back. Hundreds of people have been wounded, including members of the security forces as well as demonstrators. |
Police and medical sources told Reuters the death toll included 18 people killed in the southern city of Nassiriya, 16 in the capital, Baghdad, four in the southern city of Amara and four in Baquba, north of the capital. Other deaths were reported in two more southern cities, Hilla and Najaf. | Police and medical sources told Reuters the death toll included 18 people killed in the southern city of Nassiriya, 16 in the capital, Baghdad, four in the southern city of Amara and four in Baquba, north of the capital. Other deaths were reported in two more southern cities, Hilla and Najaf. |
Curfews were imposed in a number of cities. Authorities shut roads into the capital from the north and north-east and were sending reinforcements to Baghdad’s densely populated east. Military convoys were being sent to Nassiriya, the city worst hit by the violence. | |
Protesters in Baghdad gathered in darkness by a bonfire set among the flaming wreckage of an armoured vehicle, across the Tigris River from the main government compound. | |
“They are shooting live fire at the Iraqi people and the revolutionaries. We can cross the bridge and take them out of the Green Zone!” a man shouted to Reuters TV. | “They are shooting live fire at the Iraqi people and the revolutionaries. We can cross the bridge and take them out of the Green Zone!” a man shouted to Reuters TV. |
The unrest, fuelled by popular rage over poor living standards and corruption, is Iraq’s biggest security challenge since the defeat of Islamic State in 2017. It is also the first test for Abdul-Mahdi, installed last year by Shia parties that have dominated Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein. | The unrest, fuelled by popular rage over poor living standards and corruption, is Iraq’s biggest security challenge since the defeat of Islamic State in 2017. It is also the first test for Abdul-Mahdi, installed last year by Shia parties that have dominated Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein. |
It comes on the eve of the Arbaeen Shia pilgrimage, which in recent years has drawn as many as 20 million worshippers, trekking for days on foot across southern Iraq in the world’s biggest annual gathering, 10 times the size of the Mecca Hajj. | It comes on the eve of the Arbaeen Shia pilgrimage, which in recent years has drawn as many as 20 million worshippers, trekking for days on foot across southern Iraq in the world’s biggest annual gathering, 10 times the size of the Mecca Hajj. |
Baghdad was quieter early on Friday before Muslim prayers, although police fired live ammunition again in the morning to disperse small crowds. As well as the ongoing curfew, defied by thousands of demonstrators on Thursday, army and special forces personnel were deployed around central squares and streets. | |
Iraqis were expecting large protests to erupt later in the day, with demonstrators accusing politicians of holding back the country’s recovery from years of conflict through corruption and neglect. | |
Abdul-Mahdi acknowledged the public discontent in an overnight television message, insisting politicians were aware of the suffering of the masses. “We do not live in ivory towers – we walk among you in the streets of Baghdad,” he said. | |
He called for calm and for support from politicians to reshuffle cabinet posts away from the influence of big parties and groups. He said a basic wage for poor families would be discussed by the government. | |
'Iraq is dying': oil flows freely but corruption fuels growing anger | 'Iraq is dying': oil flows freely but corruption fuels growing anger |
Other politicians were awaiting a pronouncement from Iraq’s most senior Shia clergy, expected as part of Friday sermons. The protests could grow if they receive formal backing from the opposition political bloc of the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has long denounced corruption and the political elite. | |
Two years after the defeat of the Islamic State Sunni militant movement, Iraq has been at peace and free to trade for the first extended period since the 1970s. Oil production is at record levels providing a windfall for Baghdad. Yet after decades of war and sanctions, the country’s infrastructure is still decrepit, cities are in ruins and there are few employment opportunities for a population of 40 million. | |
Protesters say funds are being siphoned off by political parties, which have a firm grip on power in Baghdad. | |
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