"Marching day" on the protest plaza in Baghdad ... security forces fire and injure dozens

Demonstrators were injured by Iraqi security forces today, Tuesday, in Baghdad during massive demonstrations in defiance of the bloody attacks that recently targeted protesters demanding a comprehensive political change and an end to corruption, and to demand accountability for the killers of the protesters.

Witnesses said that the demonstrators in Al-Wathba Square in central Baghdad were exposed to bullets and tear gas canisters, which resulted in dozens of them being injured and suffocation.

They added that the security forces cut off the power to Al Wathba Square and its surroundings in an attempt to disperse the protesters.

The Tahrir Square in central Baghdad has witnessed the gathering of large crowds of demonstrators who came from various areas of Baghdad and a number of central and southern governorates to participate in a mass demonstration called by activists, which prompted the security forces to spread widely in anticipation of any violence.

Sources said that the central areas of Baghdad, especially the Green Zone, which includes the headquarters of the government and parliament and a number of embassies, are witnessing a great security spread.

The security forces installed more checkpoints at the entrances to Baghdad and near the protest arenas in Tahrir, Al-Khilani, Al-Sanak, and others. Tightening of the security measures comes after the killing and wounding of dozens of protesters in al-Khilani Square by bullets of an armed group suspected by the protesters of belonging to the popular crowd.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the demonstrators of Baghdad’s Tahrir Square have erected several barriers to separate them from the security forces on the bridge of the Republic to prevent any demonstrators from crossing the bridge and advancing towards the Green Zone, which includes government and parliament headquarters and a number of embassies.

In the protest yards, protesters demanded accountability for those responsible for the killing of protesters and the assassination of activists.

Activists used loudspeakers to emphasize the peacefulness of their protests and to warn protesters not to respond to calls circulated on social media to go to the Green Zone on the pretext of forcing the authorities to respond to their demands, calls that other parties of the protesters rejected as justifying - as they said - to the authorities to use violence against the demonstrators and end the demonstrations by force .

In particular, regarding these calls, Qais Khazali, who leads Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of the factions of the popular crowd and close to Iran, said that the purpose of calling for the demonstrations today is "to inflict the largest possible number of deaths and cause chaos" in Baghdad.

Continuing protests
Outside Baghdad, demonstrations took place simultaneously in several governorates in central and southern Iraq, condemning the recent killings of protesters and activists.

Thousands gathered in the demonstration squares in the governorates of Babel, Dhi Qar, Maysan, Karbala, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Basra, and Diyala.

In Diwaniya, hundreds of protesters shut down an oil refinery to protest the demonstrators' demands not being met, according to the Anatolia News Agency.

In Basra, protesters closed the road leading to the Rumaila oil field, which produces 1.5 million barrels per day, according to the same agency quoted a security source.

Some cities in southern Iraq, especially Nasiriyah and Najaf, recently witnessed bloody events in which dozens of demonstrators were killed, raising the death toll from the beginning of last October to 450 dead, as well as injuring thousands of others.

Earlier today, after inviting activists to demonstrate in Baghdad, Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Othman Al-Ghanem promised to protect the protesters.

Al-Ghanem said - in a statement marking the second anniversary of the victory over the Islamic State - that the army and security forces are present to protect the demonstrators until the fulfillment of their demands, which he described as legitimate and guaranteed in the constitution.

Politically, President of the Republic Barham Salih renewed his call to the political blocs to cooperate in order to name a new prime minister and form a new government, after the resignation of Adel Abdul Mahdi late last month under the pressure of protests.