- Title: Eight killed, dozens wounded as Iraq protests flare again
- Date: 26th October 2019
- Summary: BAGHDAD (OCTOBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AT TAHRIR SQUARE PROTESTERS ON BRIDGE (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES AND TUK TUKS ARRIVING NEAR PROTESTERS / SMOKE RISING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED PROTESTER, SAYING: ''They suppressed us. No one could express his freedom. And anybody telling you that there is freedom in our country is a liar. They have targeted the protesters, TV channels and even people.'' PROTESTERS RUNNING FROM TEAR GAS, TUK TUK DRIVING NAJAF, IRAQ (OCTOBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CHANTING AND WAVING IRAQI FLAGS PROTESTER CARRYING PLACARD READING (Arabic): ''OPEN SIT-IN UNTIL REGIME IS CHANGED '' PROTESTERS CHANTING AND CLAPPING PROTESTERS MARCHING CHANTING (Arabic): ''NAJAF WILL REMAIN FREE, IRAN OUT, OUT'' BASRA, IRAQ (OCTOBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF SECURITY PERSONNEL INJURED DURING PROTESTS ON HOSPITAL BEDS DIRECTOR OF BASRA POLICE, BASIM AL-MALIKI, STANDING BESIDE AN INJURED POLICEMAN IN HOSPITAL BED INJURED SECURITY PERSONNEL LYING ON BED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF BASRA POLICE, BASIM AL-MALIKI, SAYING: ''There was harmony and love between protesters and security forces. But as the evening started, one of the groups, who don't wish to see Basra prosperous and stable, emerged and started causing turmoil and riot. So, this group entered the province building and pelted the security forces with Molotov bombs and hand-grenades which left a number of Basra policemen wounded.'' OFFICERS STANDING BESIDE INJURED POLICEMAN LYING ON BED VARIOUS OF SECURITY FORCES STANDING BY MILITARY VEHICLE SIGN READING ''BASRA GOVERNORATE'' SECURITY FORCES STANDING
- Embargoed: 9th November 2019 19:52
- Keywords: Iraq protests Baghdad Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi security forces
- Location: BAGHDAD, NAJAF AND BASRA, IRAQ
- City: BAGHDAD, NAJAF AND BASRA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2QHQVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Eight Iraqis were killed and dozens wounded on Saturday (October 26), police and hospital sources said, as demonstrators and security forces clashed in a second day of protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government.
The unrest followed violence on Friday in which at least 52 people were killed around the country as protesters vented frustration at political elites they say have failed to improve their lives after years of conflict and economic hardship.
In Baghdad, security forces lobbed tear gas to try to disperse demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Four were killed after being struck directly in the head by tear gas canisters, police and hospital sources said. Two people were in critical condition from similar injuries.
Four protesters were killed and 17 people were wounded amid chaos in the southern city of Nasiriya, where demonstrators came out in their thousands despite the heavy presence of security forces.
The deaths occurred when a group of protesters broke off from thousands gathered in central Nasiriya to storm the house of a local security official, police said. Guards opened fire after the protesters torched the building, police said.
Earlier in October, 157 people were killed and more than 6,000 wounded in other clashes between protesters and security forces.
The unrest has broken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq, which from 2003 to 2017 went through a foreign occupation, civil war and an Islamic State (IS) insurgency.
Parliament was set to meet on Saturday in an emergency session to discuss the protesters' demands, but with many politicians keeping a low profile since the protests began, it failed to reach a quorum and the session was cancelled.
(Production: Maher Nazeh, Ahmed Saeed, Mohammed A'ty, Mohammed al-Ramahi, Mohammed Katfan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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