The death toll in
three days of mass anti-government protests in Iraq has risen to 20 with
hundreds more injured as the government-imposed curfew in several cities failed
to prevent the unrest from spreading in the country's south.
Braving live fire, tear gas and local curfews, Iraqis angry at high
unemployment and entrenched corruption gathered in the streets for a third day
in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who will
complete one year in office next month.
The embattled prime minister ordered a ban on all movement across the
capital starting at 5:00am (0200 GMT), but dozens of protesters defied the
order and gathered in Baghdad's emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square.
"We slept here so the police don't take the place," one
demonstrator told AFP before riot police fired into the air in a bid to
disperse them at Tahrir Square in central Baghdad.
Travellers to and from Baghdad airport, ambulances, government employees
in hospitals, electricity and water departments, and religious pilgrims are
exempt from the curfew, the statement said.
Curfews were also imposed in the holy city of Najaf on Wednesday after
security forces fired on protesters who are demanding an end to rampant power
cuts, water shortages and state corruption.
The southern city of Nasriya, which has seen so far the deadliest
protests with a total of eight protesters and one police officer killed, has
also been placed under curfew.
Another protester was shot dead on Thursday in the province of Dhi Qar,
regional health chief Abdulhussein al-Jaberi said.
In the city of Amarah, medics and security forces have confirmed the
killing of four protesters on Thursday, bringing the death toll over the past
three days to 20.
More than 400 others have been wounded in the nationwide protests.
Demonstrations over similar issues engulfed the southern city of Basra
last summer and effectively ended previous prime minister Haider al-Abadi's
chances of a second term.
Early on Thursday, some cars and civilians were seen in the capital's
streets. Speaking two kilometres from Tahrir Square, the focal point of
protests, Al Jazeera's Imran Khan said there was an"eerie quiet over
Baghdad" but that he could hear "sporadic gunfire towards Tahrir
Square".
"What we are hearing from protesters themselves is that come 3 pm
local time (1200 GMT) they will try and push towards Tahrir Square,"
Khan said. "So the scene is being set between the protesters and the Iraqi
security forces."
Residents are wary that more protests could erupt after powerful Shia
leader Muqtada al-Sadr called for "a general strike".
Al-Sadr's political
bloc, Saeroon, which came first in last May's parliamentary
elections, is part of the ruling coalition.
The
demonstrations have descended into violence as security forces responded to
protesters by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds.
"There
was no spark for these protests," Khan said. After a small protest was
quickly dispersed by security forces on Tuesday, a social media call went out
which resulted in thousands of people taking to the streets, he added.
The
protesters are mostly "angy young people who are not aligned to any
political or religious party", Khan said.
"They
are simply very frustrated at the fact that they don't have jobs," he
said.
Meanwhile, two
border crossings to Iraq - including one widely used by Iranian pilgrims - have
been closed because of unrest in Iraq, Iranian border guards said.
According to Iran's semi-official news agency Mehr, Iranian border
guards commander General Qasem Rezaei said the Khosravi and Chazabeh crossings
had been closed since late Wednesday, but other crossings were open ahead of an
annual Shia Muslim pilgrimage in Iraq.
Since erupting in Baghdad on Tuesday, the protests have spread to other
cities in the country's south, posing a challenge to Mahdi's one-year-old
government.
Anger over staggering rates of youth unemployment, which is around 25
percent or double the adult rate according to the World Bank, appears to have
set off the latest round of demonstrations.
"We want jobs and better public services. We've been demanding them
for years and the government has never responded," said Abdallah Walid, a
27-year-old protester.
The tension has been exacerbated by a near-total internet shutdown, the
closure of government offices and at least one overnight explosion that hit the
Green Zone, where some ministries and embassies are located.
A security source inside the area told AFP there were two blasts, likely
caused by indirect fire a little over a week after two rockets hit near the US
embassy there.
The apparent attack came hours
after security forces sealed off the Green Zone "until further
notice", fearing angry protesters would swarm state buildings or foreign
missions.
The
Green Zone had been inaccessible for most Iraqis since the 2003 US-led invasion
of Iraq but had reopened to the public in June.
It
has often been the focal point for public anger, including in 2016 when
al-Sadr's supporters stormed it and paralysed state institutions.
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