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UN says ‘this must stop’ after Iraqi protest violence kills nearly 100
BAGHDAD, Oct 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United Nations urged Saturday an end
to violence in Iraq, after five days of anti-government rallies marred by the
killing of nearly 100 people, mainly protesters.
The demonstrations — which have evolved from initial demands for
employment and better services to the fall of the government — carried on
into the night in various neighbourhoods of Baghdad and southern Iraq, as
authorities struggled to agree a response.
Security forces broke up a mass rally in the east of Baghdad, where
protesters faced volleys of tear gas and live rounds fired in their
direction, witnesses said.
“Five days of reported deaths and injuries: this must stop,” said the
United Nations’ top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
She described the violence as a “senseless loss of life” and said those
behind it must be held accountable.
The authorities accused unidentified snipers of shooting into the crowd and
said they were searching residential neighbourhoods for those responsible.
At least 99 people have died and nearly 4,000 wounded since protests began
in the capital on Tuesday before spreading to the south of the country,
according to the Iraqi parliament’s human rights commission.
The mainly young, male protesters have insisted their movement is not
linked to any party or religious establishment and have scoffed at recent
overtures by politicians.
On Saturday, demonstrators in the southern city of Nasiriyah set fire to
the headquarters of six different political parties.
Thousands also descended on the governorate in the southern city of
Diwaniyah, where gunfire was unleashed into the air, AFP correspondents there
said.
Parliament’s human rights commission said Saturday that most of those who
have died in the last five days fell in Baghdad, while 250 other people were
treated in the capital for sniper wounds.
“We demand clarification from the Iraqi government on those wounded in
Baghdad by sniper fire, which is ongoing today,” the commission said.
– Parliamentary manoeuvring –
Parliament had been due to meet at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) but could not reach
quorum, after firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s bloc of 54 lawmakers and
other factions boycotted the session.
The former militia leader threw his weight behind the demonstrations on
Friday with a call for the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.
Sadr’s movement has the power and organisation to bring large numbers of
supporters onto the streets, but at the risk of alienating many of those
whose protests in recent days have been based on rejecting all of Iraq’s
feuding political factions.
Parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi had extended a hand to protesters
saying “your voice is being heard”.
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But one protester said late Friday “these men don’t represent us”.
“We don’t want parties anymore. We don’t want anyone to speak in our name.”
Iraq has a population of just under 40 million people, and is currently the
fifth-largest oil producer and exporter worldwide, and the second-largest
OPEC producer. Youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, twice the overall
rate, according to the World Bank which adds that an estimated 22.5 percent
of the population was living in poverty in 2014.
The largely spontaneous protests have presented the biggest challenge yet
to the Iraqi premier, who came to power a year ago as a consensus candidate
promising reforms but whose response to protesters has been seen as tepid.
“Abdel Mahdi should have come forward with decisive changes, like the
sacking of leading politicians accused of corruption,” said Iraqi analyst
Sarmad al-Bayati.
Authorities restricted access to Facebook and Whatsapp after anti-
government demonstrations began on Tuesday, before ordering a total network
shutdown on Wednesday.
– ‘Promised reforms’ –
Political and religious rifts run deep in Iraq, and protests are typically
called for by party or sect — making the last five days exceptional, said
Fanar Haddad an expert at Singapore University’s Middle East Institute.
“This is the first time we hear people saying they want the downfall of the
regime,” Haddad said.
Sadr, a former militia leader turned nationalist politician, demanded on
Friday that the government resign to clear the way for a fresh election
supervised by the United Nations. His bloc is the largest in parliament, and
his intervention sets the scene for a possible showdown with the speaker, who
has made his own bid to make political capital out of the protests.
Halbusi sought to allay protesters Saturday by announcing in a news
conference a long list of promised reforms over employment and social
welfare, but it was not clear he would succeed in appeasing the
demonstrators.
Iraq’s Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani used his weekly
Friday prayer sermon to urge authorities to heed the demands of
demonstrators, warning the protests could escalate unless clear steps are
taken immediately.
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