Thousands of anti-government protesters yesterday gathered in central Baghdad, defying the prime minister’s plea to end protests, which he says are costing Iraq’s economy billions of dollars and disrupting daily life.
The protests have broken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq since they started on Oct. 1. More than 250 people have been killed.
“The youth have lived through economic hardships, explosions, oppression. We want to root out this political elite completely. We want to get rid of this gang, then maybe we can rest,” said a protester who had camped overnight in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and did not wish to be identified.
Photo: Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Sunday night appealed to protesters to suspend their movement which he said had achieved its goals and was hurting the economy.
The prime minister has said he is willing to resign if politicians agree on a replacement and promised a number of reforms, but protesters say that is not enough and that the entire political class needs to go.
Operations at Iraq’s main Gulf port of Umm Qasr, which receives the bulk of the country’s grain, vegetable oil and sugar imports, have been at a complete standstill since Wednesday.
The anger over economic hardship and corruption is aimed at the sectarian power-sharing system of governance introduced in Iraq after 2003 and the political elites benefiting from it.
The political class is seen by many as subservient to one or other of Baghdad’s main allies, the US and Iran, who use Iraq as a proxy in a struggle for regional influence.
Meanwhile, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters trying to break into the Iranian consulate in the Shiite holy city of Kerbala overnight, killing three, security and medical sources said.
Burning tires and chanting “Iran out, Kerbala remains free,” the crowd assembled in front of the consulate late on Sunday.
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