TIMELINE OF THE PROTESTS IN IRAQ
October 1: More than 1,000 people take to the streets in Baghdad and cities in southern Iraq to protest corruption, unemployment and poor public services. Heeding calls on social media, they gather in Tahrir Square in what seems to be a spontaneous movement. Riot police disperse crowds with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. They fire live ammunition when protesters regroup. The first deaths are reported.
October 2: Protests multiply and riot police fire live rounds in the capital and the cities of Najaf and Nasiriyah. Influential firebrand Shiite cleric
Moqtada Al Sadr, whose bloc is the biggest in parliament, announces support for “peaceful protests”. October 3: Thousands defy a curfew in Baghdad and other cities, blocking streets and burning tyres. Riot police and soldiers again fire live
rounds. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi defends his year-old government on television, asking for more time to implement reforms. October 6: Cabinet announces reforms, including land distribution, boosted social welfare and the ousting of corrupt officials.
October 7: The powerful Hashed Al Shaabi, a network of mostly majority-Shiite paramilitary units, says it will back the government to prevent “a coup”. Calm returns and Baghdad lifts security restrictions on October 8. October 22: An official inquiry announces that the death toll from the week of protests totalled 157, most killed in Baghdad.
October 25: Deadly violence erupts as protesters set fire to dozens of government buildings and offices belonging to the pro-government Hashed paramilitary forces across southern cities. By the evening, more than 40 protesters have been killed. Security forces impose curfew.
October 28: Protest movement swells as students, schoolchildren and professors take part protests in Baghdad and cities in the south. Trade unions representing teachers, lawyers and dentists declare strikes. Parliament votes to summon Abdul Mahdi for questioning. October 29: The strikes and student rallies intensify after thousands defy an overnight curfew and stay on streets, including around Tahrir.