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Iraq
An Iraqi protester flashes the victory sign on Mohammad al-Qasim highway in east Baghdad on January 21, 2020. Photo:Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 10 protesters have been killed and more than 150 wounded since a wave of violence resumed in many central and southern provinces on Sunday, breaking a period of relative tranquility.
In an official statement sent to Rudaw English via Whatsapp on Tuesday, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) announced that at least 10 protesters have been killed since Sunday, and more than 150 protesters and security members wounded during renewed clashes between protesters and security forces.
According to IHCHR, the highest loss of life has occurred in Baghdad, where four were killed after protesters blocked Muhammad al-Qasim highway, a major road in Iraq’s capital. Security forces used excessive force, including live ammunition to disperse and push back the protesters.
According to the statement, more than 85 protesters have been detained by the security forces in different provinces over the past three days.
A protester at Mohammed al-Qasim highway spoke to Rudaw on Tuesday, hoping his actions will send a message to the government.
"We as the young people demand our rights..we are mostly university graduates and we do not have any jobs and we do not have a clear future while the government respond [to] us with live ammunition,” he said.
Another protester said the main reason for the road blocks is to "shake the main institutions of the government".
"It has been three months we are protesting but no one's listening."
Iraqis have been protesting in central and southern parts of Iraq for more than 100 days, demanding real changes in the country and threatening to topple the political class that has held power since 2005.
Baghdad Operation Command released a statement on Tuesday accusing "trouble makers" within the protest movement of shooting at security forces. One security member is said to have been injured by protesters, according to the Command.
“This morning we have confirmed a dangerous development, which is the presence of gunmen using deadly weapons with silencers inside the demonstrations and shooting towards security forces,” the statement read, adding that the injured security member was immediately transferred to hospital.
Protesters have been met with brutal force from security forces, many being killed after being hit with tear-gas canisters.
More than 520 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed and around 17,000 more wounded since October 1.
After weeks of protests and a direct call to step down from the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigned from office and has been leading a caretaker government for more than a month.
In a government meeting on Tuesday, Abdul-Mahdi called on protesters to remain peaceful and avoid blocking roads or preventing students from attending classes.
“Blocking the schools and universities is not peaceful protests, and we don’t think they have any links with the peaceful protests," he said.
“How can we make changes when schools and universities are closed, or prevent public employees from reaching their work place?"
Iraq’s various political blocs have been locked in talks since Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation to nominate a suitable candidate to replace him – no easy feat for such a deeply entrenched elite in such a deeply divided society.
Several names have been put forward for the job, but all of them have been rejected by the protesters in Iraq and its safe haven in Baghdad, Tahrir Square.
The most recent candidates put forward by political parties are Ali al-Shukri, former Minister of Planning from 2011 to 2014 and MP from 2014 to 2018, and Mohammed Toufiq al-Alawi, who served as Minister of Communication from 2006 to 2007, and again from the end of 2010-2012, when he resigned.
The third shortlisted is Mustafah al-Kadhimi, head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service since 2016. He has worked to purge the influence of parties over the institution, and is seen as the least partisan among the candidates.
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