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An anti-government protester flashes the victory sign during a demonstration, in Baghdad, Iraq on October 3, 2019. Photo: AP / Hadi Mizban
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – State figures announced Sunday night put the death toll of nationwide protests calling for improved basic services and an end to corruption at 96. Eight security force members have also died, government officials said.
As the sixth day of nationwide protests began drawing to a close, Iraq’s Ministry of Defense, Interior, Health and Joint Operations Command announced their latest casualty figures at a joint press conference in Baghdad.
“The current toll of the events that took place amid the protests stands at 104 martyrs, including 8 members of security forces,” Iraqi security officials said.
“The number of injured protesters and members of security forces stands at 6,107,” they added, while claiming they had arrested some “infiltrators” at protests.
Figures released Saturday by the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) said 99 people died and 4,000 wounded in the protests. AFP reported the death of eight protesters and the injury of 25 others in eastern Baghdad’s Sadr City on Sunday night, according to medical and security sources.
Protests demanding an end to corruption, nepotism, and mass unemployment, as well as an improved provision of basic services began in Baghdad on October 1, soon spreading to other Iraqi cities.
Demonstrators have been met with violence by security forces, including use of tear gas and live rounds of ammunition.
On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced a batch of measures to meet the demands of protesters following an “exceptional Council of Ministers” meeting.
Measures included a monthly allowance of 175,000 Iraqi dinars for 150,000 of the country’s unemployed, as well as plans for 100,000 housing units prioritizing the poor across Iraqi provinces.
However, the announced measures have failed to extinguish protests. Though they appeared to show a national slowdown today, demonstrations continued with fervor in Sadr City, one of the capital’s poorest neighborhoods.
One protester expressed dismay at what he described as the Iraqi Army acting in cooperation with police and other security forces to quell protests with violence.
“I have been out here protesting for five days, and we didn’t let anyone [protesters] attack the Army stationed there. We have been protecting it. Now the Army is shooting at us?” he told Rudaw from Sadr City.
Another said the “policy of closing mouths is bygone.”
“They have closed the channels that were covering the events. This does you no good Adil Abdul-Mahdi [Iraqi Prime Minister]. For how long will you close them? The footage of the killing of youth is in our phones,” the second protester said.
His comments came as local and regional media agencies claimed late on Saturday they had been attacked for their coverage of protests in Iraq.
Kurdish media agency NRT released images of their ransacked Baghdad offices, while news channel Al-Hadath released CCTV footage of the Baghdad office it shares with fellow Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya being ransacked by gunmen.
As Rudaw spoke to those protesting in Sadr City, live rounds could be heard being fired, while protesters, who had purportedly set tires alight, could be seen fleeing to safety.
“We call on the United Nations to intervene to dissolve the parliament, government, and the presidency. Currently, Iranian riot police, Safavid forces, are firing upon us,” a protester said as he withdrew alongside Rudaw’s reporter. Another Iraqi eyewitness previously told Rudaw English that Iran-backed Khorasani Brigades had fired at protesters in Baghdad on Tuesday night.
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