In Iraq, President Barham Saleh called on Monday (October 7th) to "stop the escalation" after six days of demonstrations and violence that have left one hundred dead and more than 6,000 wounded, according to a final official report.

Accusing "enemies of the people" to be behind these losses, Barham Saleh urged all Iraqi political forces to "free and total political dialogue" without "foreign interference" to meet the demands of protesters who , he said, are "not impossible" to achieve.

Since the start of the protest movement on 1 October, Iraqis have been on the streets in Baghdad and southern cities demanding jobs, public services and denouncing corruption.

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In the night of Sunday to Monday in Sadr City, in the east of Baghdad, 13 people died in clashes between protesters and police, according to medical and police sources. On Monday, the military command recognized "excessive use of force" and announced that it had "started to hold accountable officers who made these mistakes."

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President Saleh will have to put measures in place to avoid "the use of excessive force", recalling that peaceful protests were a "constitutional right" and denouncing the recent attacks on several media outlets in Baghdad.

Iran denounces "conspiracy"

The authorities have so far ensured compliance with "international standards" and accused "unidentified gunmen" of targeting protesters and police. Human rights defenders accused the police of shooting at protesters.

In this context of crisis, the leader of Hashd al-Shaabi, a powerful paramilitary coalition dominated by Shiite militias close to Iran, said he was "ready" to intervene to prevent "a coup d'état or rebellion", if the government ordered it. Shortly before, Iran, a neighbor and ally, denounced a "plot" and warned that it had "failed".

The protest movement comes as thousands of Iraqi and Iranian marchers have begun the annual Shiite pilgrimage to Imam Hussein's tomb in Kerbala, south of Baghdad, which is due to culminate on October 17 with Arbain's celebrations.

On the diplomatic front, the Iraqi Prime Minister announced that he had spoken on the phone with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the situation in Iraq, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was leading a planned visit to Baghdad before the start of the war. the protest.

With AFP