BAGHDAD, Jan 21 (NNN-NINA) – Three demonstrators were killed and dozens of protesters and security members wounded, in Baghdad and other cities, as anti-government protests flared over corruption, lack of jobs and public services, a Ministry official said.
“The latest reports showed that, three demonstrators, including civil society activist, Yousif Sattar, were killed and up to 54 demonstrators wounded and suffocated,” the official said.
Most of the casualties occurred, when security forces tried to prevent demonstrators from blocking the Mohammed al-Qassim highway that links the downtown of the capital to several neighbourhoods in the east of the capital, the official said.
Clashes between protesters and riot police continued in the evening in the highway and the nearby al-Gailani Square in downtown Baghdad, the official added.
A statement by Baghdad Operations Command said that 14 of the security members were wounded when protesters damaged the sidewalks of the streets near the highway and threw the stones on the security forces at an intersection in downtown Baghdad.
Demonstrations also continued in the provinces of Babil, Najaf, Karbala, Dhi Qar, Diwaniyah, Wasit, Maysan and Basra, as protesters blocked main roads and closed many of the government institutions, according to local media reports.
The latest violent protests came, after the end of a week deadline, put by the demonstrators for the political blocs to come up with a new government.
