Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad and Basra on Sunday marking a year since anti-government unrest erupted across the country, and to put pressure on the government to meet their ongoing demands of improving living conditions, eradicating corruption and creating new jobs for the thousands of unemployed.
Protesters waved the Iraqi flag and held up pictures of those killed during the protests. Some sang patriotic songs while clapping and cheering.
More than 560 people, mostly unarmed demonstrators but also some members of the security forces, have been killed since a wave of popular unrest began on Oct. 1, 2019, with both security forces and unidentified gunmen shooting people dead.
Protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty.
"We have renewed these protests because our demands have not been met, demands we have been calling for for over a year. So we decided to renew these marches by students in Basra. We will keep going until our demands are met," said Hussein Miyahi.
The protests have shaken the country out of two years of relative calm following the defeat of Islamic State insurgents.
Last year's protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who was replaced in May by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who pledged to investigate the deaths and incarceration of hundreds of protesters.
MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7420793/iraq-1-year-of-protests/
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Protesters waved the Iraqi flag and held up pictures of those killed during the protests. Some sang patriotic songs while clapping and cheering.
More than 560 people, mostly unarmed demonstrators but also some members of the security forces, have been killed since a wave of popular unrest began on Oct. 1, 2019, with both security forces and unidentified gunmen shooting people dead.
Protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty.
"We have renewed these protests because our demands have not been met, demands we have been calling for for over a year. So we decided to renew these marches by students in Basra. We will keep going until our demands are met," said Hussein Miyahi.
The protests have shaken the country out of two years of relative calm following the defeat of Islamic State insurgents.
Last year's protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who was replaced in May by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who pledged to investigate the deaths and incarceration of hundreds of protesters.
MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7420793/iraq-1-year-of-protests/
For more info, please go to http://www.globalnews.ca
Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#IraqProtests #GlobalNews #CorruptionProtests
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- Iraq protests, Baghdad Iraq protests, Basra Iraq protests
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