Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has called on anti-government protesters to reopen roads, saying they have achieved their goal. But with nothing really changed after a month, the protests show no signs of abating.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Al Mohammedaw
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Tens of thousands of Iraqi protesters shut down Baghdad and parts of the country's south on Sunday as embattled Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called for life to return to "normal."
A monthlong protest movement driven by discontent over corruption and economic hardship is gaining increasing momentum, with teachers, students and unions joining demands for wholesale political change. More than 250 people have been killed by security forces and Iran-backed Shia militia.
In statement published on Sunday evening, Abdul-Mahdi said the protests "shook the political system" and achieved their purpose.
Protesters have blocked the highway leading to Umm Qasr portImage: Getty Images/AFP/H. Faleh
In recent days, thousands of protesters have blocked operations at Iraq's main port, Umm Qasr, near the oil-rich city of Basra. Elsewhere, protesters have brought economic life to a standstill in Baghdad and the majority-Shiite south.
"Threatening the oil interests and blocking roads leading to Iraq's ports is causing big losses exceeding billions of dollars," Abdul-Mahdi said, adding the impact on imports of basic goods was driving up prices.
The prime minister's call is likely to fall on deaf ears, with Iraqis tiring of repeated unfulfilled promises and political corruption while the country lacks basic services.
"We decided to cut the roads as a message to the government that we will keep protesting until the corrupt people and thieves are kicked out and the regime falls," Tahseen Nasser, a 25-year-old protester in the eastern city of Kut, told Agence France-Presse.
Protests target empty promises, Iran
The government has proposed hiring more people in the bloated public sector, social welfare plans and early elections once a new voting law is passed.
Last week, President Barham Salih said the prime minister is willing to resign once political leaders agree on a replacement and an election law is implemented.
Political machinations in Baghdad have cast the spotlight on Iran, which backs militia and is close to a number of the main political parties. Highlighting Iran's sway, Qassem Soleimani, the powerful general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps elite Quds force, flew to Baghdad last week to intervene in order to ensure an influential Shiite political party did not abandon Abdul-Mahdi.
Iraqis ushered in October with anti-government protests in Baghdad. The intermittent violent confrontations have so far resulted in hundreds of injuries and dozens of deaths. Unease remains in several cities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. al Mohammedaw
Protests begin as civilians try to enter government property
On October 1, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad to protest the government. Among their demands were reducing unemployment, providing better services and ending corruption. The demonstrations converged on the centrally located Tahrir Square. The protesters also tried to enter the fortified Green Zone, which houses embassies and government buildings.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. al Mohammedaw
Violent police crackdown
Security forces responded to the protesters attempt to enter the Green Zone by blocking roads and using tear gas, stun guns and water canons. After the demonstrators refused to leave, the forces opened fire with rubber bullets and with live fire. More than 200 were reportedly injured and one died. One other person died and dozens more were injured in related protests elsewhere in Iraq.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Mohammed
Calls for restraint
The embattled Iraqi government has only been in power since October 2018. Following the protests, it increased security in Baghdad. Iraqi President Barham Saleh (pictured above in a photo from March 2019) urged "restraint and respect for the law." The UN's top official in Iraq also expressed "grave concern."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Belaid
More protests, more deaths
Protests continued despite the violence. On October 2, fresh demonstrations broke out in downtown Baghdad. Police, who were at the ready with armored vehicles and riot gear, responded with more live fire. By the end of the day, seven people were killed, bringing the total death count over the first two days of October to nine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Mizban
Protest multiply
The demonstrations and riots also spread from Baghdad to Iraq's south. In some places demonstrators set buildings on fire. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi blamed the violence on "aggressors" and called an emergency national security meeting. While some politicians joined him in criticizing the protesters, others condemned the government's response.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Mizban
More instability ahead
The government issued a curfew in Baghdad and three southern cities as standoffs continued nationwide, including at the airport outside the capital. By the end of October 3, at least 25 people had been killed. The border between Iraq and Iran was closed ahead of a religious pilgrimage to the Iraqi city of Karbala. Iran urged its citizens not to travel to Iraq; Bahrain issued a similar warning.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mizban
Anti-government blogger arrested
Come mid-October, determined protesters set fires and closed streets. Meanwhile, Shujaa al-Khafaji, an Iraqi blogger, had been detained, apparently over his coverage of the unrest. A relative of the outspoken writer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said heavily armed masked gunmen snatched him from his apartment in a dawn raid.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Mohammed
No end in sight as death toll rises
As the month neared its end, there was no conclusion to the angry protests. Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi promised reforms, but still civilians gathered in Baghdad's Tahrir Square waving Iraqi flags and chanting slogans demanding the resignation of the government. More deaths ensued as unrest escalated both in the capital and in the mainly Shiite-populated southern provinces.
