No respite in Iraq violence as death toll mounts to 53

Security forces opened fire directly at hundreds of anti-government demonstrators Friday in central Baghdad, killing at least 10 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.”

The deaths raised to 53 the number of people killed in clashes during the continuing protests and marked a sharp escalation in the use of force against unarmed protesters.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said no “magic solution” was available, pledging vague reform unlikely to placate Iraqis.

Meanwhile, three Gulf Arab nations have advised their citizens to avoid travelling to Iraq and those who are there to leave the country immediately.

Friday’s call by Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar comes after three days of deadly protests in Iraq.

The Kuwaiti news agency Kuna cited a foreign ministry official as urging Kuwaiti nationals to avoid travelling to Iraq due to the demonstrations, and for those already there to leave as soon as possible, and to avoid areas where protests are held. Bahrain’s foreign ministry also called on its country’s citizens not to travel to Iraq and urged those already in Iraq to “leave immediately.”

The UN also called on Iraq to rapidly and transparently investigate force used by anti-riot police in clashes with protesters. “We call on the Iraqi Government to allow people to freely exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told journalists in Geneva.

The violence showed both sides to be unwilling to back down from the unrest that marks the most serious challenge for Iraq since the defeat of Daesh group two years ago.

Iraq parliament announced that it would dedicate Saturday’s session “to examining the demands of the protesters.”

In a televised address to the country early on Friday, Abdul Mahdi 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.

Authorities have shut the Internet and imposed an around-the-clock curfew in the capital in a desperate attempt to curb the rallies.

Gunfire rang out in Baghdad on Friday, as security forces battled and chased groups of protesters. Security forces fired directly at people trying to reach the central Tahrir Square, which was sealed off, hitting two protesters directly in the head and killing them, according to witnesses as well as to security and hospital officials.

The military’s media arm said two policemen and two civilians were killed by sniper fire.

The protesters, many of whom had camped on the streets overnight, gathered before noon near Tahrir in defiance of Abdul Mahdi’s call and the curfew announced a day earlier. Around sunset, following Friday prayers, the number of protesters grew to more than 1,000 as security forces opened fire in side streets to prevent more people from reaching the square. Tahrir, or Liberation square, is famous for its monument known as the Freedom Statue that depicts key events in Iraqi history before it became a republic starting in 1958.

“There’s no electricity, no jobs, people are dying of starvation, and people are sick. It is a curse,” said one young protester, who declined to be identified for fear of reprisal.

“I am taking part in the demonstrations because of unemployment and corruption,” said Rasoul Saray a 34-year-old unemployed Baghdad resident who wore a green mask. He vowed to continue protesting despite the crackdown.

Iraq’s most senior Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani urged both sides to end the violence, and he blamed politicians, particularly lawmakers, for failing to enact promised reforms on the economy and corruption. The comments were his first since the protests began, and many across Iraq’s predominantly Shiite south had looked to the influential cleric for guidance.

“The government and the political sides have not fulfilled the demands of the people to fight corruption,” Sistani said in his Friday sermon, delivered by his representative Ahmed Al Safi in the city of Karbala.

“We will continue the movement. We heard Adel Abdel Mahdi, his speech was disappointing and we reject it totally,” said protester Adel Abdel Hadi, who had come to Baghdad from the southern city of Basra. Samer, another protester, said he was “not impressed” even by Sistani’s comments.

Agencies