Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

 

6 Iraqi Protesters Killed, Scores Injured, 2 Police Officers Killed by a Car During a Basra Protest

January 20, 2020

Editor's Note:

Iraqis, both Sunnis and Shi'is, are fed-up with the US-installed corrupt regime, they are in full revolt against it, demanding it to be thrown out (regime change by people).

 

Iraqi protesters in Baghdad, January 20, 2020	Clashes between security forces and protesters in Baghdad, January 20, 2020

Iraqi protesters in Basra, January 20, 2020 yaqein	Iraqi protesters in Diyala, January 20, 2020

 

The following are news stories from the independent Iraqi Arabic news agency, Yaqein ( http://yaqein.net/ ):

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Iraqi protesters in Diyala, Basra and Nasiria block the roads in protest against no changes about corruption in government, despite the killing 600 protesters in the last three months. Today, Monday, 20, 2020, 6 Iraqi protesters were killed and scores were injured in variouscities. Moreover, two police officers were killed when they were run over by a car, during the Basra protest. المتظاهرون يقطعون طرق رئيسية في البصرة والناصرية 21 يناير 2020 ، يقين مع استمرار أجهزة الدولة في صم آذانها عن مطالب المحتجين، ارتفعت وتيرة الغضب الشعبي ليطال هذه المرة غلق الطرق الرئيسية بين المحافظات وداخل المدن بحرق الاطارات، مع تصاعد دعوات المحتجين بوقف التدخل الإيراني في شؤون العراق وانهاء حقبة الفساد المسيطرة على مقاليد الحكم. وعلى مدار ثلاثة أشهر من المواجهات سقط نحو 600 قتيل ومئات الجرحى من المحتجين، مما صعب من جهود الحكومة في إخماد جذوة الحراك، الذي أمهل أجهزتها حتى 20 يناير لتحقيق مطالب. ومع انتهاء هذه المهلة،الاثنين، تجدد الاشتباكات بين قوات الأمن العراقية والمحتجين عقب أيام من الهدوء، حيث سقط في يوم واحد 6 قتلى، في حين أصيب عشرات آخرون. و أفاد شهود عيان بناحية النصر شمالي محافظة ذي قار بان متظاهرين غاضبين قطعوا طريق رئيسيا يمر عبر الناحية. وذكر الشهود، ان متظاهرين غاضبين في النصر شمالي ذي قار أقدموا على قطع الطريق العام الرابط بين الناصرية والكوت”. وبينوا، أن ” المتظاهرين استخدموا الاطارات المحترقة في عملية قطع الطريق”. افاد مصدر امني في محافظة البصرة ، الاثنين، بانه تم قطع الطريق السريع من جهة القرنة في المحافظة. وقال المصدر: ان “متظاهرين قطعوا مساء اليوم، الطريق السريع من جهة قضاء القرنة في البصرة امام حركة سير العجلات”. https://yaqein.net/politics/239539 الأجهزة الأمنية تُفرق تظاهرة في ديالى بالقوة 20 يناير 2020 ، يقين قامت القوات الامنية في محافظة ديالى بتفريق تظاهرة في حي المفرق وسط مدينة بعقوبة وملاحقة المحتجين واعتقال بعضهم في الازقة وسط اطلاق رصاص حي كثيف باتجاههم وانباء تتحدث عن سقوط ضحايا و عدد من الاصابات بين صفوف المتظاهرين. وفي بغداد قالت مصادر أمنية وطبية إن أربعة عراقيين قتلوا يوم الاثنين وأصيب العشرات في العاصمة بغداد ومدن أخرى خلال اشتباكات بين المتظاهرين وقوات الأمن بعد أن تجددت المظاهرات المناوئة للحكومة في أعقاب هدوء استمر عدة أسابيع. وأضافت المصادر أن اثنين من المحتجين لقيا حتفهما في المستشفى متأثرين بالجروح التي أصيبا بها بعد أن أطلقت الشرطة الذخيرة الحية في ساحة الطيران في بغداد. وأشاروا إلى أن أحدهما أصيب بطلقة رصاص في الرأس بينما أصابت الآخر قنبلة غاز مسيل للدموع. وفي مدينة البصرة قالت مصادر أمنية إن سيارة مدنية دهست شرطيين وقتلتهما أثناء الاحتجاجات. وفي أماكن أخرى في جنوب العراق أشعل مئات المحتجين النار في إطارات السيارات وأغلقوا طرقا رئيسية في عدة مدن من بينها الناصرية وكربلاء والعمارة. يأتي هذا التصعيد من قبل المتظاهرين بعد انتهاء المهلة المقررة من قبل متظاهري الناصرية “مهلة وطن” لتنفيذ المطالب. https://yaqein.net/politics/239514

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The following are news stories from the independent Iraqi English news site, (https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en):

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Iraqi Officials: At Least 13 Wounded in Baghdad Violence

Monday، 20 January 2020 06:18 PM

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and live rounds during clashes with anti-government protesters overnight and on Monday morning in Baghdad, wounding at least 13 demonstrators and prompting authorities to close key streets and thoroughfares leading to the city center, officials said.
    
The violence is the latest since protests in Iraq reignited last week after a brief lull amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran following a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad earlier this month.
    
The tear gas and live rounds were fired near the city's Sinak Bridge and nearby Tayaran Square, which have been the scene of violence in recent days, medical and security officials said.
    
As smoke rose over the city from the tear gas, tuk-tuks ferried the injured to hospitals.
    
A security official said at least nine arrests have been made so far after the National Security Council authorized security forces to arrest demonstrators seen blocking main thoroughfares and roundabouts.
    
The U.N. envoy to Iraq, meanwhile, urged Iraqi political elites to resume pushing for reforms and for protests to remain peaceful.
    
“Any steps taken so far to address the people's concerns will remain hollow, if they are not completed,`` said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the U.N.

``Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs. Nothing is more damaging than a climate of fear.”
    
In the southern city of Nasiriyah, protesters blocked the highway linking the city to the southern oil-rich province of Basra. At least six protesters were wounded when an unknown gunmen fired at them from a speeding car, a medical official said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.
    
Iraqi activists in Nasiriyah had given the government a week's deadline to act on their demands for sweeping political reforms. otherwise they said they would up the pressure with new demonstrations. Other activists across the country quickly followed suit, promising to escalate should the government fail to act.
    
In Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, in southern Iraq, protesters burned tires and blocked main roads, halting traffic, the same tactic was used in Baghdad and elsewhere in the south the previous day.
   
 “Today we burned tires in solidarity with our brothers in Nasiriyah,” said a protester in Najaf. He declined to give his name, fearing reprisal, and spoke with his face hidden by a balaclava. “Let everyone know, if we are only burning (tires) now, other actions can follow.”
    
The uprising began on Oct. 1 when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, poor public services and a scarcity of jobs. Protesters are demanding an end to Iraq's sectarian political system, alongside early elections and the stepping aside of its ruling elite.
    
Since the protests first erupted in October, at least 500 have died under fire from security forces.

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Dozens of Iraqi protesters wounded as anti-government unrest resumes

Monday، 20 January 2020 06:16 PM

Two Iraqi police officers were killed and dozens of protesters were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces, medical and security sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks.
 
In Baghdad’s Tayaran Square overnight, protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, Reuters witnesses said.
 
Elsewhere in southern Iraq, hundreds of protesters burned tires and blocked main roads in several cities, including Nassiriya, Kerbala and Amara. They say Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not fulfilled promises including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis.

“They (security forces) should stop shooting and aiming, who are they and who are we? Both sides are Iraqis. So why are you killing your brothers?” said one woman protester in Baghdad who declined to give her name.
 
In the Iraqi oil city of Basra, two policemen were struck and killed by a civilian car during the protest, security sources said. The driver was trying to avoid the scene of clashes between protesters and security forces when he drove into the two officers, they said.
Baghdad police said its forces had reopened all roads that were closed by “violent gatherings”. It said 14 officers were wounded near Tahrir square, including with head wounds and broken bones.
 
Traffic was disrupted on a highway linking Baghdad to southern cities, a Reuters witness said. Production in southern oilfields was unaffected by the unrest, oil officials said.

Mass protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1, with mostly young protesters demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and as keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed.

Numbers had dwindled but protests resumed last week as demonstrators sought to keep up momentum after attention turned to the threat of a U.S.-Iran conflict following Washington’s killing of Tehran’s top general in an air strike inside Iraq.

The killing of Qassem Soleimani, to which Tehran responded with a ballistic missile attack on two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops, has highlighted the influence of some foreign powers in Iraq, especially Iran and the United States.

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Clashes between security forces, protesters escalated in Baghdad

Monday، 20 January 2020 05:35 PM

At least two people were killed, and dozens of others injured when protesters clashed with Iraqi security forces in the capital Baghdad on Monday.

Local Iraqi media said two Iraqis were killed and over 60 wounded as demonstrations turned violent in Baghdad after renewed anti-government protests over the weekend.

Baghdad’s Operation Command said 14 of its officers suffered various injuries.

Clashes resumed between protesters and security forces in Baghdad on Sunday morning, while demonstrations in Basra joined a deadline set by those in Nasiriyah for political forces, stating that unless their demands are met, they would cut off major roads linking their areas with the capital.

Local activists told Kurdistan 24 that early on Sunday, riot police attempted to storm Tahrir Square, the central gathering space of demonstrators in Baghdad, but the protesters prevented this and burned several tires.

Following that incident, witnesses reported shootings of live rounds in the al-Tayaran Square, a short distance east of Tahrir, with claims of injuries among protesters.

Amid the continued violence, security forces have killed over 450 protesters and wounded thousands more since demonstrations broke out in October 2019. Unofficial estimates range as high as 600 dead among demonstrators.

Crowds first took to the streets in early October to express long-held grievances about chronically inadequate public services, a low standard of living, and widespread institutional graft among government officials.

The United Nations has called for Iraq to push for reform amid the ongoing violence in the country.

Court accepts lawsuit against Salih for abusing constitution

The Federal Supreme Court announced the acceptance of the lawsuit submitted by the National Forum for Popular Accountability against President Barham Salih, over violating the constitution.

Salih failed to abide by the constitution after he failed to assign another prime minister after the resignation of the now-caretaker prime minister, within the constitutional period stipulated in Articles (76 / First) and ( 81) and (61 / D).

A forum member said that this step is one of the first escalatory steps within the peaceful legal frameworks adopted by the forum in support of the legitimate demands of peaceful demonstrators.

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