Iraq Protests Continue Unabated Despite PM’s Resignation Pledge

Arab World

November 30th, 9:52am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The burning vehicle of Iraqi security forces is seen after clashes with protesters during ongoing anti-government protests, in Nassiriya, Iraq November 29, 2019. (Reuters)

Protests raged in Iraq on Saturday despite Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s pledge to resign on Friday after a call from the country’s top Shiite cleric for the government to step down to end weeks of deadly unrest. In Baghdad, demonstrations set tires ablaze on three bridges spanning the Euphrates River as hundreds more converged in the main protest camp in the flashpoint city's center, according to an AFP correspondent. Their renewed rallies came despite a bloody crackdown by security forces that left more than 40 protesters dead over the past two days in the city. The violence was unleashed after protesters stormed and burned the Iranian consulate in the city of Najaf, accusing Iraq's neighbor of propping up the Baghdad government. That city, too, saw security forces and armed men in civilian clothes try to snuff out rallies in the aftermath of the consulate torching, leaving more than 20 protesters dead, medics told AFP. Najaf was relatively calm on Saturday, according to AFP's correspondent, but protests there usually swell in the afternoon and evening. The city of Karbala was rocked by overnight clashes between young protesters and security forces trading fire bombs until the early hours of the morning. And in Diwaniyah, thousands hit the streets early to demand "the downfall of the regime." "We'll keep up this movement. Abdel Mahdi's resignation is only the first step, and now all corrupt figures must be removed and judged," one protester told AFP. In the southern city of Nassiriya, protesters burned tires and surrounded a police station, a Reuters witness said. Parliament has yet to make Abdul Mahdi’s resignation effective and will convene on Sunday to pass a vote of no confidence in him. Weeks of political wrangling are expected before a successor to Abdul Mahdi is picked and a new government formed. However, the premier’s promise to quit will not satisfy protesters, who are demanding the overhaul of a political system that they say is corrupt and keeping them in poverty and without opportunity. Many Iraqis fear violence will continue to escalate as angry families mourn dead relatives and the government moves slowly to enact very little reform. The grassroots movement is the largest Iraq has seen in decades and also the deadliest, with more than 420 people killed and 15,000 wounded in Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south, according to an AFP tally. Iraq’s semi-official Human Rights Commission said in a statement on Saturday that those responsible for the killings of protesters must be brought to justice and that it would gather evidence for prosecution. The statement did not acknowledge the prime minister’s resignation. The International Committee of the Red Cross urged a halt to rising casualties. “Firearms and live ammunition must only be used as a last resort,” it said in a statement. The rising deaths have sparked global criticism, with the United Nations saying the deaths "cannot be tolerated" and the French foreign ministry saying it "strongly condemns the excessive and disproportionate use of force against protesters".

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2014811/iraq-protests-continue-unabated-despite-pm%E2%80%99s-resignation-pledge