More die as Iraq spirals into chaos
Iraq was spiralling into chaos on Sunday as eight more people were killed and 25 injured on a sixth day of protests against corruption, unemployment and failed public services.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced a series of reforms after an “extraordinary” overnight Cabinet session, but politicians and others told Arab News they would not be enough to end the protests. “Abdul Mahdi is floundering,” a prominent Shiite politician said. “The problem is clear and the solutions are obvious, but he is too weak to make a bold decision and act.
“What he has to do is abandon the net of corrupt people surrounding him who actually govern, but he won’t do that and they will not let him.”
The latest deaths on Sunday came in new clashes between protesters and police in the eastern Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, where security forces used live rounds and tear gas.
Earlier the Interior Ministry said at least 104 people had been killed and more than 6,000 injured since the protests began last Tuesday. Eighteen people died overnight on Saturday, and masked gunmen dressed in black stormed TV channel offices in Baghdad, including Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, where they attacked staff and destroyed equipment. Abdul Mahdi’s reform plan included granting of plots of land to low-income families, building 100,000 new homes in poor areas, a monthly grant to the unemployed and the disabled, small trading stalls to provide job opportunities, and new training courses for graduates.
Analysts said it would not be enough to assuage protesters who accuse the prime minister of turning a blind eye to excessive force by Iranian-backed armed factions. “Live bullets were the first choice of these forces, without hesitation,” an Iraqi human-rights activist told Arab News.
Abdul Mahdi’s backers would view the fall of his government as a victory for the US and its allies, observers said.
“The pressure on Abdul Mahdi from his allies to prevent his resignation or retreat is enormous,” analyst Rahman Al-Jobouri told Arab News.
“What is clear is that the protests will not end, but what is clearer is that Abdul Mahdi will not resign.”