Iraqi protester tells stories of death on the bridge of the Republic

Ali leaned on a pile of "blankets" on the bank of the Tigris under the al-Jumhuriya bridge near Baghdad's Tahrir Square, telling the stories of his dead colleagues.

Ali says he has seen more than 50 people killed in his eyes since anti-government protests began in Iraq last month.

Ali, who is in his early 20s and from Baghdad's Sadr City slum, said the first dead man was an acquaintance who died after being hit in the chest.

He said death was normal after he saw people, including his friends, suffocated or their skulls smashed from gas bombs or sound bombs.

Witnesses and medical and security sources say more than 250 Iraqis have been killed since the beginning of October in protests against the government, which they see as corrupt and captive to foreign interests.

A government report said nearly 150 people were killed in the first week of unrest, with 70 percent of them shot in the head and chest.

Over the past 10 days, hundreds of young men and boys have set up tents on and under the bridge.

The bridge leading from the square to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies have been the scene of violent clashes between protesters and security forces.

Protesters erected barricades of iron sheets and concrete blocks. The security forces used rubber bullets, sound bombs and tear gas, killing dozens on the neighboring bridges of the Republic and Senk. The situation is frozen on this tense situation between the two sides.

"We threw them with stones and responded by killing us," Ali said as the security forces fired a number of tear gas canisters.

under the bridge
A group of volunteer medical workers set up a camp to help treat the wounded. Members of the group say that the used gas that has expired is causing suffocation for people, and that some of the cans are marked for expiration in 2014.

A young man fainted after suffocating with gas, and was carried by paramedics down from the bridge and placed in a tuk-tuk carriage to take him to a nearby hospital.

Ali is surrounded by an interconnected group of 10 people who have been camping under the bridge since 24 October.

The group is enthusiastic about the bloodshed. Many have left the poorest neighborhoods of Baghdad where they work as tuk-tuk drivers or day laborers.

Despite Iraq's oil wealth, many people live in poverty and have limited access to clean water, electricity, health care or education. Protesters say corruption is the cause.

"16 years they say our lives will improve," said an Iraqi named Abbas. He was born in 2000 and "I have been working since the age of 10 years and I have more than 5000 dinars in my pocket."

The nights are perilous
Abbas was arrested in the first wave of protests with Ali and other members of the group. They said their phones were checked to identify their fellow protesters. The authorities released them on bail and were told that they should avoid demonstrations. Ali said he "has returned to the demonstrations and will remain for the revolution to continue."

Many protesters wore bandages either on the arm, torso or legs. They said many of the injuries were caused by security forces using liquefied gas canisters, sound bombs and rubber bullets. Some were fired from boats in the river, stressing that the danger intensified at night.

Ali said security forces threw petrol at the camp a few nights ago at 3 am and then threw pieces of flaming cloth. Now the boys stand guard in shifts.

Ali said security forces would disperse demonstrations in Tahrir Square if we left the bridge. "Even if they throw anything at us, we won't leave anywhere."