Violence erupts during protests in Iraq

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.