Baghdad calls for restraint .. And live bullets fired again to disperse the demonstrators

Security forces yesterday fired live bullets into the air to disperse protesters. At a time when Iraqi President Barham Saleh called for restraint the day after seven demonstrators and a policeman were killed in violence that the government blamed on Mandassin, the protests expanded to include new cities under measures. High security.

In the face of its first public examination since its formation nearly a year ago, the Iraqi government accused "aggressors" and "mendes" of "deliberately causing casualties among demonstrators."

Yesterday, riot police used live ammunition to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who went out to demand accountability for the corrupt and to combat unemployment, in order to reject the dismissal of a popular military commander.

In the southern Baghdad district of Zaafaraniya, where protesters burned tires, an AFP correspondent heard the buzzing of bullets, similar to the day before yesterday in central Baghdad, in the vicinity of Tahrir Square from which the demonstration began.

According to medical sources, about 10 people were taken to Baghdad hospitals, indicating that they were suffocated as a result of inhaling tear gas or were injured during the stampede.

But the demonstrators seem determined to keep moving. In Zaafaraniya, Abdullah Walid, 27, told AFP that he went out to demonstrate yesterday "to support our brothers in Tahrir Square," which security forces cordoned off.

"We are demanding job opportunities, recruiting graduates and improving services," he said on a street where riot police were stationed.

In al-Sha'ab neighborhood, amid the smoke from burning tires, Mohammed al-Jubouri, who works as an earner even though he holds an engineering degree, said: “We demand everything, we demand a homeland, we feel we are strangers in our country, not a state that infringes on its people as this government did. "We are dealing peacefully, but they opened fire."

The streets of Baghdad are experiencing traffic jams against the backdrop of demonstrators closing streets and burning tires in the streets, while security services restricted movement in a number of bridges, most notably the bridge leading to the government and parliament buildings.

An Iraqi official at Baghdad International Airport said that «demonstrators protested against Iranian interference in Iraq, and blocked the road leading to the airport».

"The security forces are trying to disperse the demonstrators," the official said.

The security sources and witnesses reported earlier that the scope of the protests widened yesterday afternoon to include cities and other provinces under tight security measures.

The sources said that the number of demonstrations expanded in Baghdad to include the neighborhoods of Adhamiya, Canal Street, Diyala Bridge, Khalani Square, Nairyah, Zaafaraniyah, Tahrir Square, Aviation, and cutting the Baghdad International Airport road from the Bayaa neighborhood.

The sources said that the demonstrations started yesterday afternoon in the governorates of Nasiriyah, Najaf, Samawah, Diyala, Wasit and Hilla in light of the unprecedented deployment of Iraqi forces, where these demonstrations accompanied the burning of tires and the escalation of black clouds in the skies of these areas and cities.

In Basra, Iraqi security forces arrested yesterday dozens of people who demonstrated to demand a regime change.

Iraqi security forces launched a campaign of mass arrests of demonstrators gathered in the city's Ashar district.

The campaign resulted in the arrest of dozens of them, pointing out that the government blocked all social networking sites and cut the Internet throughout the city.

Thousands of residents of Basra, the day before yesterday, in large-scale demonstrations demanding reforms and regime change in Iraq and the provision of basic services to its citizens.

The Iraqi government announced that the Prime Minister and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Adel Abdul Mahdi, held an emergency session of the National Security Council to discuss the repercussions of popular protests. The deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament Hassan al-Kaabi yesterday called Abdul Mahdi to open an investigation into the popular protests, and listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters.

Al-Kaabi said in a press statement that «the legislative authority supports the right to peaceful demonstration in Baghdad and the provinces as long as they are in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to open an urgent and fair investigation of yesterday's events, and listen to the legitimate demands of our fellow demonstrators and respond to them».

He explained that the Presidency of the Council of Representatives has already directed the parliamentary security, defense and human rights committees to open a parliamentary investigation of the events that took place the day before yesterday, pointing out that the two commissions yesterday initiated all procedures to preserve the rights and demands of all the people.

The deputy speaker expressed "deep regret over the loss of life and injuries among unarmed civilians and security forces, despite the constant assurances that violence and live bullets should not be used and that public and private demonstrations and property should be kept peaceful."

War-weary Iraq has suffered chronic power cuts and drinking water for years and ranks 12th on the list of the world's most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International.

According to official reports, since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, about $ 450 billion in public funds have disappeared, four times the state budget, and more than double Iraq's GDP.

The headline of the «new evidence» Iraqi that this movement did not witness «for the first time .. No banners, no images and no party slogans».

Security forces dispersed demonstrations in Baghdad and several cities in the south of the country by force, first with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Shortly thereafter, in the capital, security forces used live bullets in the air for hours in Tahrir Square.

Seven people, including a policeman, were killed and more than 200 injured, according to medical reports and the Ministry of Health.

While the family of one of the protesters killed in Baghdad was buried in the popular Sadr City area, Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan denounced the "architects" seeking to "spread violence."

Then, Iraqi President Barham Salih commented on Twitter that "peaceful demonstration is a constitutional right." "Our children in the security forces are charged with protecting the rights of citizens."

He added, "Our sons, the youth of Iraq, are looking for reform and job opportunities.

In a related context, the Presidency of the Iraqi Council of Representatives went to two parliamentary committees to open an investigation into the events that accompanied the demonstrations, while the Commission on Human Rights expressed its opposition to the "wrong reaction and the method of suppression of peaceful demonstrations," stressing the need to "bear everyone's responsibility."

Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi called for an investigation into the issue, similar to the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who raises the anti-corruption banner.

"We salute the heroes of our armed forces who have shown a high degree of responsibility and restraint" in the face of "non-peaceful aggressors and intentionally causing casualties among the demonstrators," Abdul Mahdi said in a statement. The statement sparked fiery comments on social media yesterday morning, while politicians were supporting the protesters.