17 November 2018
Iraqi protests over dire living conditions resume in Baghdad and the south Friday, 20 July 2018 23:38
BAGHDAD — Widespread protests over miserable living conditions in southern Iraq continued Friday, but demonstrators largely avoided confronting a large deployment of police and military. Throughout the southern provinces and in the capital, protesters gathered in large public squares and demanded reforms while also chanting “silmiyah,” or “peaceful.” Tensions briefly flared in Baghdad when protesters began marching from Liberation Square toward a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone. Police responded with water cannons, prompting demonstrators to throw bottles and chant:…
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Protests spread, turn deadly in Iraq: At least 8 are dead, dozens hurt Tuesday, 17 July 2018 14:11
Baghdad (CNN)At least eight people are dead and dozens injured in weeklong protests over jobs and basic services, Iraq's Ministry of Health spokesman Saif al-Bader said Monday. The protests started in the southern Iraq port city of Basra and spread to different areas of the country. At least 56 people have been wounded, seven of them critically, Bader said in a news conference. Of the eight dead, two were killed in Basra, two in Najaf, three in al-Simawa and…
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Two More Killed In Southern Iraq As Antigovernment Protests Spread Monday, 16 July 2018 22:25
At least two protesters were killed in southern Iraq as protests against economic hardship and corruption spread from the port of Basra to other parts of the country. Protesters on July 14 stormed the provincial government building in Kerbala on the sixth day of rallies, which also took place in the city Najaf, where demonstrators stormed the airport and halted air traffic. The two deaths in the city Amarah brought to three the number of protesters killed in the past…
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Police clash with protesters in Basra as unrest sweeps neglected sourthern cities of Iraq Monday, 16 July 2018 22:12
Iraq was rocked by increasingly violent protests for a seventh day on Sunday as citizens of the oil-rich southern province of Basra took to the streets denouncing corruption and demanding water, electricity and jobs. Two people were killed on Sunday night in spillover protests in nearby Samawa bringing the total death toll to five since protests began as the demonstrations appeared to spread. "Hundreds of people tried to storm a courthouse. Shots were fired towards us. It was not clear who was shooting. We had…
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Iraqi troops shoot four protesters dead as demonstrations continue in Basra Sunday, 15 July 2018 21:21
![Iraq suffers from acute financial crisis due to dropped oil prices and anti-terrorism expenses [File photo]](/media/k2/items/cache/5e8173bf39566531ecfe4424fce66d85_M.jpg?t=1531690108)
Basra – Four Iraqi protesters were killed and three others were after security forces opened fire at them to restore security in the unrest-plagued southern governorate of Basra, a security source was quoted as saying. According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Iraqi troops “opened fire at a group of protesters who gathered outside the headquarters of Basra provincial council in a bid to storm it, leaving four demonstrators dead and three others injured.” The source…
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Airlines suspend, divert flights as violent protests in Iraq continue Sunday, 15 July 2018 21:17
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – As violent protests continue to rage in Iraq’s southern provinces, some airlines in the region have suspended flights to the country for security reasons. Royal Jordanian Airline, Flydubai, and Kuwait Airways have all suspended flights to the Iraqi city of Najaf while flights from Iran have been diverted to the capital Baghdad. On Friday, air traffic was put on hold as protestors demanding an end to unemployment and corruption in the government stormed the Najaf International Airport. Since…
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Protests turn violent in Iraq’s oil-rich Basra over unemployment, lack of electricity Sunday, 08 July 2018 21:41
People took to the streets of Basra on Sunday, the center Iraq’s oil industry, to protest the lack of services and job opportunities in the region. Protesters blocked roads, preventing oil company employees from going to work while chanting slogans calling for jobs and the improvement of public services, notably government-supplied electricity. Witnesses told Kurdistan 24 security forces fired warning shots into the air to disperse crowds of disgruntled civilians gathered on the streets of Bahala, north of Basra city.…
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Iraqi police open fire on protesters near southern oilfields Sunday, 08 July 2018 21:38
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi police opened fire to disperse dozens of protesters near the southern oil hub of Basra on Sunday as they demonstrated against a shortage of jobs, electricity, water and other basic services, police and local officials said. Police sources said eight protesters were wounded in the shooting while a local mayor said one demonstrator was killed and three were wounded. “Protesters were only making fair demands for jobs and better basic services but police opened fire…
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Allawi calls for Iraqis to re-vote after '50 percent' discrepancy in Kirkuk Saturday, 07 July 2018 20:53
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called for a re-election, saying that a manual recount of the votes in Kirkuk province revealed a discrepency exceeding 50 percent."The percentage of discrepancies revealed by the manual recount in Kirkuk exceeded 50 percent affirming the farce of the elections," tweeted Allawi.Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission ended manual counting of ballots on Thursday, but they are yet to be released. Smaller Kurdistani parties have accused the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan…
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Iraq: Change Approach to Foreign Women, Children in ISIS-Linked Trials Thursday, 21 June 2018 21:36
Rushed Proceedings, Lack of Due Process, Disproportionate Sentences (Beirut) – Iraq’s judiciary should change its approach to dealing with detained foreign women and children who are accused of affiliation with the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Human Rights Watch said today. Since January, Iraq has proceeded with rushed trials against foreigners on charges of illegal entry and membership in or assistance to ISIS without sufficiently taking into account the individual circumstances of each case or guaranteeing suspects a fair trial. Most foreign women…
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Iraqi cleric Sadr announces disarmament initiative Sunday, 10 June 2018 17:40
Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Friday for a nationwide disarmament campaign and announced his Baghdad stronghold would be first to disarm just two days after an ammunitions cache exploded there and killed 18 people. Sadr, whose political bloc won Iraq’s parliamentary election in May, called on all armed groups to hand in their weapons to the government and declared Baghdad’s Sadr City district would be a weapons-free area later this month. “Everyone must obey the orders and not stand in…
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