In a residential area near the protest site, crowds gathered to buy vegetables and fruit, with one shopkeeper saying the price of tomatoes, grapes and other greens had risen threefold.”We are worried by reports that security forces have used live ammunition and rubber bullets in some areas, and have also fired tear gas canisters directly at protesters,” Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, told reporters in Geneva.And populist Sadr&Rubber Products Suppliers39;s Saeroon bloc emerged as the biggest in the Iraqi parliament after May 2018 elections.They are unusual because of their apparent spontaneity and independence in a country where rallies are typically called by politicians or religious figures.Friday saw chaotic scenes of protests in Baghdad and other cities with at least 10 people killed, including four — two police and two civilians — who security forces said were shot dead by “unidentified snipers”.Demonstrator Sayyed said the protests would continue “until the government falls”. to silence # protests away from cameras and the world’s eyes”, she added.
“There are no magic solutions.But despite his plea, a curfew and an internet blackout, Iraqis thronged the iconic Tahrir Square on Friday and clashed with the anti-riot police, AFP reporters said.An internet blackout was a “draconian measure.Medical sources say that most of those killed were hit by live rounds but do not specify who was shooting.The former Shiite militia leader, whose bloc is the biggest in parliament, said in a statement that in order to avoid further deaths “the government should resign and early elections should be held under UN supervision”.Northern and western provinces that were ravaged in the 2014-2017 war against the Islamist State group have remained relatively quiet.”In a live television address, parliament speaker Mohammad al-Halboussi assured protesters “your voice is being heard”, adding that he was holding meetings with officials to discuss their grievances.As protests and clashes gained in intensity, many Baghdad shops and petrol stations remained shuttered Friday..He said he could “not keep silent” as Iraqi blood was being shed.
Adel Mahdi on Friday asked for more time to implement his reform agenda in a country plagued by corruption and unemployment after decades of conflict.Protests first broke out in Baghdad on Tuesday and have since spread across the Shiite-dominated south.At least 60 people have died over four days of bloody protest across Iraq, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said on late Friday, without specifying how many were civilians or security forces. The previous toll was 44. Sistani has repeatedly acted as final arbiter of the politics of Iraq’s Shiite community, which dominates the government.The latest figures include 18 deaths registered at a single hospital in the capital Baghdad.The United Nations and Amnesty International urged Iraqi authorities to respect the right of peaceful assembly.Riot police have unleashed water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire to clear the streets of protesters.The back-to-back messages from Sistani and Sadr were a huge blow to Abdel Mahdi’s government.
With more than 1,600 people wounded, the toll may rise further.Sadr’s statement piled new pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi as he battles to quell the unrest.In his first speech since protests began Tuesday, the embattled premier appealed for patience from the young unemployed who have formed the mainstay of the protests, saying his not yet year-old government needed more time to implement reforms.In the southern city of Diwaniyah, where two people were killed on Friday.It came after Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged authorities in a midday sermon to heed the demands of demonstrators, warning the protests could escalate unless immediate and clear steps are taken..Amnesty International’s Middle East research director Lynn Maalouf condemned the use of “lethal and unnecessary force”.The Iraqi human rights commission said wounded protesters were being arrested from hospitals, slamming a heavy handed approach by security forces..”
We’re not infiltrators,” protesters in the capital shouted, responding to accusations from Iraqi officials that “aggressors” were behind the protests.His supporters have been at the forefront of most of the larger protests in recent years, including in 2016 when he urged them to storm Baghdad’s administrative and diplomatic Green Zone.Security forces opened up with a barrage of gunfire and reporters said they saw several people hit by bullets, some in the head and the stomach.Baghdad: Iraqi firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr called on the government to resign as violence spiked across the country and protesters clashed with police on the fourth day of deadly demonstrations against corruption and unemployment
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