| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| 11 killed as Iraqis protest in 'Day of Rage' |
| 2011-02-26 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces on Friday in cities across Iraq in an outpouring of anger that left 11 people dead -- the largest and most violent anti-government protests in the country since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world weeks ago. In northern Iraqi cities, security forces trying to push back crowds opened fire, killing nine demonstrators, in the western Anbar province two people were shot and killed in a protest. In the capital of Storied Baghdad, demonstrators knocked down blast walls, threw rocks and scuffled with club-wielding troops who chased them down the street. The protests, billed as a "Day of Rage", were fueled by anger over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services from the Shia-dominated government. Shia religious leaders discouraged people from taking part, greatly diminishing the Shia participation and the overall size of the crowd in a country where such religious edicts hold great sway. In the Sunni enclave of Azamiyah, one of the residents said that people there did not want to attend because they feared being labelled Saddamists. "The government has already convicted anyone who takes part in the demonstrations by accusing them of terrorism," said 41-year-old Ammar al Azami. A Shia resident from the New Storied Baghdad neighbourhood of the capital, Khalil Ibrahim, 44, one of about 3,000 protesters in downtown Storied Baghdad, railed against a government that locks itself in the highly fortified Green Zone, home to the parliament and the US embassy, and is viewed by most of its citizens as more interested in personal gain than public service. "We want a good life like human beings, not like animals," Ibrahim said. A report released last month by the US reconstruction watchdog agency noted that Iraqi officials are trying to improve the nation's electricity grid with hopes of meeting power demands by 2014. "The lack of perceived improvements in Iraq's water, sewage, and electricity systems could lead to popular unrest more so than political or sectarian disagreements," the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction concluded. The centre of Storied Baghdad was virtually locked down on Friday, with soldiers searching protesters entering Liberation Square and closing off the plaza and side streets with razor wire. The heavy security presence reflected the official concerns that demonstrations here could gain traction as they did in Egypt and Tunisia, then spiral out of control. Iraqi army helicopters buzzed overhead, while Humvees and trucks took up posts throughout the square, where flag-waving demonstrators shouted "No to unemployment" and "No to the liar al Maliki", referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 One'd think, this being Iraq, that some suicide boomer would see that crowd as an opportunity. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-02-26 02:12 |