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Strikes and sit-ins are proliferating in Baghdad and throughout Iraq. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, October 29 in Kerbala, clashes between protesters and police, who fired live ammunition, caused 14 new casualties. They add to the more than 230 deaths since the start of the protest in October.
Protesters are more and more numerous since the students came to join the movement. Hicham al-Hachemi is an Iraqi researcher and writer, close to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. He tries to explain why the Iraqis do not flee.
" The uprising continues because protesters no longer trust the government and its promises. The reforms announced concern only the political sphere. Nothing has been announced to improve the economic situation. The protests are also gaining power thanks to Moqtada al-Sadr, who encouraged the people to take to the streets. Yesterday, in Baghdad , the curfew was not respected. More than a million protesters, mostly young people, watched from 18:00 to 10:00 in all the streets of the city and not only in Tahrir Square. "
► See also: Paralyzed state and rising violence in Iraq
Moqtada al-Sadr is an influential Iraqi Shiite leader. He descended on Tuesday in the streets of the city of Najaf alongside demonstrators, demanding the resignation of the government. In Parliament, the majority disintegrates after the resignation of four members of the government camp. Prime Minister Mahdi is in trouble according to Hicham al-Hashemi.
" Before November 5, Adel Abdel Mahdi must present a reform plan to Parliament. If the plan is rejected by the deputies, the Prime Minister will have to resign. The President of the Republic would then have two weeks to form a new government. And if it does not succeed, early elections could take place. "
Not sure that elections could calm the anger of the protesters. They demand the fall of a system unchanged since Saddam Hussein and a revision of the Constitution.
► To listen and read also: From Beirut to Baghdad, outburst of anger in the Middle East