Death toll rises to 19 as Iraq protests spread

The death toll from mass rallies in Iraq against corruption and unemployment rose to 19 yesterday, as the leaderless protest movement spread to virtually all of the south. Braving live fire, tear gas and local curfews, Iraqis flooded the streets for a third day in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. The embattled premier ordered a ban on all movement across the capital starting at 5:00 am (0200 GMT), but dozens of protesters defied the order and gathered in Baghdad’s emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square.

“We slept here so the police don’t take the place,” one demonstrator told AFP before riot police fired into the air in a bid to disperse them. The protests began in Baghdad on Tuesday but have since spread to cities across the mainly Shiite south.

On Thursday, medics and security sources told AFP that four protesters were shot dead in the southern city of Amarah and another in the province of Dhi Qar.

The new deaths bring the overall toll from three days of demonstrations to 18, including one police officer.

More than 600 protesters and security personnel have been wounded.

Tensions have been exacerbated by a near-total internet blackout, the closure of government offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for “a general strike.”

Before dawn twin explosions hit the Green Zone, where some ministries and embassies are located and which was struck by two rockets last week, a security source in the area told AFP.

The apparent attack came hours after security forces sealed off the compound “until further notice” just a few months after reopening it to the public, fearing angry protesters would overrun it.

In the city of Kut, two protesters were killed overnight after they tried to storm a local government office, medics and security sources told AFP.

Death toll rises to 19 as Iraq protests spread

The death toll from mass rallies in Iraq against corruption and unemployment rose to 19 yesterday, as the leaderless protest movement spread to virtually all of the south. Braving live fire, tear gas and local curfews, Iraqis flooded the streets for a third day in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. The embattled premier ordered a ban on all movement across the capital starting at 5:00 am (0200 GMT), but dozens of protesters defied the order and gathered in Baghdads emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square. We slept here so the police dont take the place, one demonstrator told AFP before riot police fired into the air in a bid to disperse them. The protests began in Baghdad on Tuesday but have since spread to cities across the mainly Shiite south. On Thursday, medics and security sources told AFP that four protesters were shot dead in the southern city of Amarah and another in the province of Dhi Qar. The new deaths bring the overall toll from three days of demonstrations to 18, including one police officer. More than 600 protesters and security personnel have been wounded. Tensions have been exacerbated by a near-total internet blackout, the closure of government offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for a general strike. Before dawn twin explosions hit the Green Zone, where some ministries and embassies are located and which was struck by two rockets last week, a security source in the area told AFP. The apparent attack came hours after security forces sealed off the compound until further notice just a few months after reopening it to the public, fearing angry protesters would overrun it. In the city of Kut, two protesters were killed overnight after they tried to storm a local government office, medics and security sources told AFP.