Police open fire as thousands of protesters defy Iraq curfews

Wissm al-Okili, REUTERS | A demonstrator runs between burning tires during a curfew in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on October 3, 2019.

Iraqi security forces on Friday used live ammunition and tear gas against protesters who defied a curfew in Baghdad and in southern cities as the death toll from four days of mass protests rose to at least 40.

Defying curfews, tear gas and live rounds, thousands of demonstrators gathered across the country to vent anger over corruption, unemployment and poor services in the biggest challenge yet to Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

The embattled premier made a televised speech early Friday as heavy gunfire rang out across Baghdad, saying there was no “magic solution” to Iraq’s chronic governance problems and graft but pledging to try to pass a law granting poor families a basic income.

In his first public address since protests began, Abdul Mahdi said the security measures imposed in the wake of this week’s violence, including the temporary curfew, were “difficult choices” but were needed like “bitter medicine” that has to be swallowed.

He also defended his government's achievements, while asking for time to implement a reform agenda promised last year. The prime minister had so far preferred to communicate by written statement, with state media declaring he had met with unnamed protest leaders.

‘Why do the police shoot?’

Iraqi security forces have imposed a round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad, firing live rounds and tear gas every day since Tuesday to disperse anti-government protests. The violence has left at least 44 people dead, including two police officers, and wounded over 1,000 people, police and medical sources told Reuters on Friday.

 

The largest number of casualties occurred in the southern city of Nassiriya, where 18 people were killed, followed by the capital Baghdad where the death toll stood at 16, they said.

Hours before Abdul Mahdi's address, crowds swelled around the ministry for oil and industry in Baghdad, with demonstrators vowing to march to the capital's emblematic Tahrir Square.

"We'll keep going until the government falls," said 22-year-old Ali, an unemployed university graduate. "I've got nothing but 250 lira ($0.20) in my pocket while government officials have millions," he told AFP.

Most demonstrators carried the Iraqi flag while others held banners bearing the name of Hussein, a revered figure in Shiite Islam. Police and army troops used automatic weapons mounted on military vehicles to fire at the ground, the bullets ricocheting into the crowd. Wounded protesters piled into small tuk-tuks to reach hospitals.

"Why do the police shoot at Iraqis like them? They suffer like us – they should help and protect us," said protester Abu Jaafar.

The unrest comes on the eve of the Arbaeen Shi'ite pilgrimage, when as many as 20 million worshippers are expected to journey for days on foot across southern Iraq in the world's biggest annual gathering, ten times the size of the Mecca Hajj.

'Your voice was heard before you even started protesting,' says Iraqi PM Adel Abdul Mahdi in an address to protesters

Kurdish and Sunni regions calm

Protests began Tuesday in Baghdad and spread across the mainly Shiite south. Several cities have imposed curfews but protesters have flooded the streets regardless. Meanwhile the Kurdish northern regions and Sunni western provinces have remained relatively calm.

The grievances echo those of mass demonstrations in Iraq's south just over a year ago, prompted by a severe water shortage that caused a health crisis.

Since then, southern provinces have accused the central government of failing to address profound infrastructural gaps. In particular, anger has boiled over at the staggering level of youth unemployment, which is around 25 percent or double the overall rate, according to the World Bank.

Tensions have been exacerbated by the closure of government offices and calls by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for "a general strike". Sadr was behind major protests in Baghdad in 2016 when his supporters stormed the city's Green Zone, home to some ministries and embassies. His involvement appears much more limited this time, but if his followers join the protests en masse the rallies will likely balloon even further.

Internet access shut off

With internet access virtually shut off, demonstrators have struggled to communicate or post footage of the latest clashes. Approximately 75% of Iraq is "offline" after major network operators "intentionally restricted" access, according to monitor NetBlocks.

The United Nations, European Union and United Kingdom have all appealed for calm, while rights group Amnesty International slammed the response to protests.

Should the government be toppled, any power vacuum could prove challenging for the region, given Baghdad's status as an ally of both the United States and Iran, who are locked in a political stand-off.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS and AP)