Police snipers fire at demonstrators in Baghdad, as death toll rises during protests

Record ID: 1435124

  • Title: Police snipers fire at demonstrators in Baghdad, as death toll rises during protests
  • Date: 4th October 2019
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (OCTOBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS RUNNING, SOUND OF GUNFIRE VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS RUNNING ON ROAD, CROWDS DISPERSING IN ZAAFRANIYA AREA PEOPLE JUMPING OVER DAMAGED WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CIVIL ACTIVIST, MONTAZER ALZAYDI, SAYING: "This is how corrupt, parties act. They are shooting people with live fire. In Zaafraniya alone there were twelve wounded." PEOPLE, CARS ON ROAD VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED ON ROAD
  • Embargoed: 18th October 2019 20:01
  • Keywords: Baghdad Iraq protests government Zaafraniya
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AZOO7K7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Police snipers fired at demonstrators in Baghdad on Friday (October 4), as the death toll rose to 60 people during national protests against government corruption.
    Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi called for calm over the protests, which have been going on for three days.
    The majority of deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, as the violence escalated.
    The country's most influential cleric pinned the blame for the violence on politicians who had failed to improve the lives of the public, and ordered them to meet the protesters' demands.
    Another politically powerful cleric pulled his opposition faction's lawmakers out of parliament, a gesture likely to fuel anger behind the unrest.
    On the streets of Baghdad, police appeared to be targeting individual protesters. Reuters reporters saw one fall to the ground after being shot in the head. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
    Elsewhere, a Reuters television crew saw a man critically wounded by a gunshot to the neck after snipers on rooftops opened fire at a crowd.
    The violence is the worst since Iraq put down an insurgency by Islamic State two years ago. The protests arose in the heartland of the Shi'ite majority, but quickly spread.
    (Production: Mostafa Salem)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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