UN calls for national dialogue to end Iraq unrest

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Protesters must enter into dialogue with the Iraqi government to end the vicious cycle of violence unfolding on the streets of cities nationwide, the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) said Wednesday.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative to Iraq, paid a visit to Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the national protests which resumed on Friday after a three-week hiatus. 

The UN official spent time speaking with the protesters hearing their demands, encouraging them to enter into dialogue with the government to halt the deadly unrest.

“In our continuous efforts to promote dialogue between protesters and the government, the Special Representative of UN Secretary General for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, visited Tahrir Square to engage with the people out there,” the UNAMI statement read.

Hennis-Plasschaert reminded the protesters that “no government could comprehensively tackle the legacy of the past and the present challenges in just one year in office”.

A wave of unrest spilled over southern Iraq earlier this month as Iraqis took to the streets to demand action on unemployment, poor services, and rampant corruption. At least 157 people were killed in the first nine days of the month, according to UN figures.

Protests resumed on Friday after the Shiite religious observance of Arbaeen – only this time the protesters are demanding “revolution” to sweep away the old Islamic parties and overthrow the government.

According to the latest figures from the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) seen by Rudaw on Wednesday, at least 100 people have been killed and 5,500 wounded since Friday.

It said 399 protesters have been detained and 343 of them released – 56 remaining in custody.

The IHCHR also said 98 properties, both public and private, have been torched or stormed by protesters.

On Monday, school children in uniforms joined the ranks of protesters in Baghdad and southern Iraq, in defiance of the education ministry, which warned streets were no place for young people.