Violence escalates in Iraq even after top cleric urges calm
Security forces opened fire directly at hundreds of anti-government demonstrators Friday in central Baghdad, killing at least 17 protesters and injuring dozens, hours after Iraq’s top Shiite cleric warned both sides to end four days of violence “before it’s too late.”
Spontaneous rallies, which began Tuesday, started as mostly young demonstrators took to the streets demanding jobs, improved services such as electricity and water, and an end to corruption in the oil-rich country.In a desperate attempt to curb massive rallies, authorities blocked the internet and imposed an around-the-clock curfew in the capital.
Security forces hit two people in the head and killed them, according to witnesses and security and hospital officials. The military’s media arm also said two policemen and two civilians were killed by sniper fire.Rasoul Saray, a 34-year-old unemployed Baghdad resident who wore a green mask, vowed to continue protesting despite the crackdown.As Iraqi journalists were interviewing another protester in the square, a policeman opened fire and wounded the youth in the leg.
Sistani, who is looked to by many across Iraq’s predominantly Shiite south for guidance, urged the government to “carry out its duty” to ease people’s suffering and reiterated his call for a committee of technocrats to make recommendations on fighting corruption as a way out of the crisis. He also singled out the leaders of the two biggest parliament blocs.
In an address to the nation, he said the protesters’ “legitimate demands” had been heard, adding that the security measures used against the demonstrations were like “bitter medicine” that needs to be swallowed.
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