The dispute has resumed more beautiful. At least 40 people died Friday (October 25th) in violent clashes between police and protesters in Iraq. The protesters strongly attack the ruling class, accused of corruption and negligence.

More than 2,000 people were injured when riot police used tear gas and stun grenades, medical sources and the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (HCIDH) said.

>> Read: In Iraq, protesters denounce the violence of riot police

Green zone

In Baghdad, eight protesters were killed, five of whom were fired by tear gas grenades, as thousands of people tried to enter the Green Zone, where the Iraqi authorities sit, including Embassy of the United States, according to the HCIDH.

In the south of Nasiriyah, at least nine protesters were killed when members of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia group Assaïb Ahl al Haq fired on a group of protesters who were trying to set fire to its premises. Are we told of police and hospital sources?

Eight people were killed in Amara - six protesters, a member of Assaïb Ahl al Haq, and an Iraqi intelligence officer. A protester succumbed to Samawa. Clashes have also been reported in Basra.

In Diwaniya, twelve protesters perished in the fire of a building they could not escape, we learned from the morgue and police sources. The building, which houses the local headquarters of the Badr Organization, a pro-Iranian movement, was reportedly set on fire by protesters who did not know that others were inside.

Official toll of 157 dead and 6000 wounded

The protest movement against Adel Abdul Mahdi's government began on 1 October in Baghdad before spreading to several southern cities, resulting in a violent police crackdown that left 157 dead and more than 6,000 wounded, according to a report. official. According to the Ministry of the Interior spokesman, at least 68 members of the security services were injured.

Adel Abdoul Mahdi, in power for a year, had presented a 17-point plan to try to calm popular anger (housing aid for the poor, unemployment benefits, training and other initiatives for young people ...) but these proposals, for some similar to those advanced after the wave of protest of 2015, were not enough, as well as a government reshuffle.

Call for calm

The head of government addressed the nation on Thursday night, as rallies resumed Tahrir Square in Baghdad, to warn against institutional chaos.

"What we want is the resignation of the entire government, the dissolution of all political parties and a better life." We came here peacefully for that, "said 51-year-old Mahmoud al-Choummari. , on Tahrir Square.

"We want four things: work, water, electricity and security," said 16-year-old Ali Mohammed.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest Shiite religious authority in Iraq, called for calm during his Friday sermon.

With Reuters