Free haircuts, grilled fish as protests gain momentum

BAGHDAD >> Barbers give free haircuts to protesters. Young men grill carp fish for a national dish called masgouf and distribute to the crowds. Others play dominoes, oblivious to the chaos all around and nearby security forces firing tear gas.

Anti-government protests in Iraq gained momentum Wednesday with tens of thousands of people gathered in a central square in Baghdad and across much of the country’s Shiite-majority central southern provinces.

The sound of tear gas explosions echoed throughout the day as security forces battled young men trying to advance toward the heavily fortified Green Zone through Al-Joumhouriya Bridge.

Security and hospital officials said one protester was killed after suffocating from the gas, and more than 100 protesters were injured by tear gas canisters fired by security forces in the vicinity of Tahrir Square, which has emerged as the epicenter of the protests.

The death brings the total number of people who have been killed since the unrest began Oct. 1 to 241. The protesters have been met with bullets and tear gas by security forces from the first day — a massive security crackdown that has only served to bring out more protesters.

“We are now in Tahrir Square, which is called nowadays ‘the holy land,’ supporting our sons, brothers and friends who are here (protesting), to show a civilized image of the protest to the whole world,” said Jenan Kareem, a middle-aged Iraqi woman who joined the protests. The protests are over deteriorating living conditions, unemployment and corruption.