Thousands defy crackdown to hold huge protest in Iraq

Tens of thousands of Iraqis massed in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Friday in the biggest demonstrations since anti-government protests erupted a month ago, defying security forces that have killed scores of people and harshly criticising Iran’s involvement in the country’s affairs.

The square and the wide boulevards leading into it were packed with flag-waving protesters, as security forces reinforced barricades on two bridges leading to the heavily-fortified Green Zone, the seat of government.

At least 255 people have been killed in two major waves of protests in the past month, including five who died on Friday of wounds sustained earlier, according to security and medical officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

At least 350 people were wounded Friday as security forces fired tear gas grenades and rubber bullets to drive people back from the bridges.

Many protesters directed their rage at Iran.

Videos circulated online of a group of protesters holding a poster showing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the head of its elite Quds force, General Qassim Soleimani, with their faces crossed out.

The video, which showed protesters beating the poster with their shoes, appeared to have been filmed on Thursday in Tahrir Square.

On Friday, protesters marched over an Iranian flag painted on the pavement with a swastika added to it.

A group of about 50 militia supporters on Friday showed up at the protest, prompting other demonstrators to chant: “Iran take your hands off, the people don’t want you!”The militias, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, said in a statement that they stood with the protesters and were committed to protecting them.

But the statement warned of “foreign interests” that it said wanted to sow division in order to cause “internal fighting, chaos and destruction.”

Iraq’s influential Shiite clerical establishment, which is seen as politically independent, condemned “attacks on peaceful protesters and all forms of unjustified violence,” saying those responsible should be held accountable.

Shiite cleric Ahmed Al Safi, who delivered a Friday sermon on behalf of the clerical leadership, said authorities should not allow “any person or group or biased entity, or any regional or international party” to impose its view on the Iraqi people — an apparent reference to Iran.

The sermon was delivered in the Karbala, where masked men suspected of being linked to the security forces opened fire on protesters earlier this week, killing at least 18 people.

Amnesty International says security forces in Baghdad have fired military-grade tear gas grenades directly into the crowds, causing horrific wounds and occasionally lodging the projectiles in people’s skulls.

One protester, Ahmad Fadel, showed up dressed head to toe in sniper camouflage that resembled threshed hay.

“All of Iraq is out today against the regime and the corrupt government and parties,” he said. “I’m wearing this as a form of support to the protesters and a message to the sniper who targets protesters: You will not scare us.”

In southern Iraq, demonstrators have attacked and set fire to political party offices.

The protesters accuse their rulers of squandering the country’s oil wealth, pointing to its poor infrastructure and frequent power outages.

“I was born to be respected, among people who should be respected,” said a protester who identified himself as Abu Sajad. “But as far as we are concerned, we have the worst passport in the world and the worst nationality. We are the No. 1 country when it comes to corruption. We have the second or fourth largest oil reserves but we are a poor nation.”

Thousands also gathered in the main square of Najaf, another Shiite holy city, late Thursday. Groups of men danced and waved Iraqi flags, while volunteers handed out falafel sandwiches cooked on site.

“This is a great revolution,” said Marwa Ahmed, one of several women in the rally. “We will not give up or back down until our demands are met.”

The protesters want sweeping change to the political system established after the 2003 US-led invasion, which they blame for widespread corruption, high unemployment and poor public services.

Associated Press