30 dead in Iraq, scores in protest

BAGHDAD - Thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Iraq’s capital and across the south on Thursday, the third day of mass rallies that have left 30 dead.

Defying curfews, tear gas and live rounds, they gathered by truckfuls to vent their anger against corruption, unemployment and poor services in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

Mr Abdel Mahdi has made few public appearances since protests kicked off, preferring to communicate by written statements even as state media claimed he met with unnammed protest leaders.

As dusk fell in Baghdad, crowds swelled around the capital’s oil and industry ministry, with demonstrators pledging to march to the capital’s emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square.

“We’ll keep going until the government falls,” pledged 22-yearold Ali, an unemployed university graduate.

“I’ve got nothing but 250 lira (20 US cents) in my pocket while government officials have millions,” he told AFP.

Most demonstrators carried the Iraqi tricolour while others brandished flags bearing the name of Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson and a revered figure in Shiite Islam.

Riot police and army troops fired at the ground from automatic weapons mounted on military vehicles, 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 three days of demonstrations have left 30 people dead, including two police officers, and over 1000 people have been wounded.

More than half of those killed in the last three days have been in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where seven protesters were shot dead and dozens wounded on Thursday alone. Nearby Amarah has also seen significant bloodshed, with medics and security sources reporting four protesters shot dead on Thursday.

Two protesters and a police officer were killed in Diwaniyah and one demonstrator was killed in AlHilla, also south of Baghdad.

Protests began Tuesday in Baghdad but have since spread across the mainly Shiite south, including the provinces of Dhi Qar, Missan, Najaf, Basra, Wasit and Babylon.

Several cities have imposed curfews, but protesters have flooded the streets regardless.

The Kurdish northern regions and Sunni western provinces have remained relatively calm.

The grievances echo those of mass demonstrations in Iraq’s south a little over a year ago which were prompted by a severe water shortage that caused a widespread health crisis.