Death toll rises in Iraq unrest
BAGHDAD—THE death toll from mass rallies in Iraq against corruption and unemployment rose to 18 on Thursday as the protest movement spread to virtually all of the south. Braving live fire, teargas and local curfews, Iraqis flooded the streets for a third day of protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul-mahdi. The government also restricted internet access to 75 percent of Iraq, cybersecurity monitors said.
BAGHDAD—THE death toll from mass rallies in Iraq against corruption and unemployment rose to 18 on Thursday as the protest movement spread to virtually all of the south.
Braving live fire, tear gas and local curfews, Iraqis flooded the streets for a third day of protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul-mahdi.
Abdul-mahdi ignored
Abdul-mahdi ordered a ban on all movement across the capital but dozens of protesters defied the order and gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.
“We slept here so the police don’t take the place,” one demonstrator told Agence France-presse (AFP) before riot police fired into the air in a bid to disperse them.
The protests began in Baghdad on Tuesday but have since spread to cities across the mainly Shiite south.
On Thursday, medics and security sources told AFP that four protesters were shot dead in the southern city of Amarah and another in the province of Dhi Qar.
The new deaths bring the overall toll from three days of demonstrations to 18, including one police officer.
More than 600 protesters and security personnel have been wounded.
Tensions have been exacerbated by a near-total internet blackout, the closure of government offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-sadr for “a general strike.”
Riot police have used water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds in an attempt to quell the unrest.
The worst violence has taken place at night and Iraqis have braced themselves for larger gatherings once darkness falls on Thursday.
But with internet access virtually shut off, demonstrators have struggled to communicate with each other or post footage of the latest clashes.
Approximately 75 percent of Iraq is “offline” after network operators “intentionally restricted” access, according to cybersecurity monitor Netblocks.