BAGHDAD: Sevenprotesters were killed yesterday in Iraq as security forces cleared protestsites in Baghdad and Basra after political leaders agreed to stand by theembattled government by any means. The leaders, sources told AFP, also agreedto put an end to rallies rocking Iraq's capital and its south since Oct 1 anddemanding an overhaul of the political system. The crackdown began in themorning when security forces wrested back control from demonstrators of threebridges spanning the River Tigris in the heart of Baghdad.
Iraqi forces thenmoved towards Tahrir (Liberation) Square, ground zero for the month-longmovement demanding regime change, firing live rounds and tear gas. Threedemonstrators died from bullet wounds and a fourth when a tear gas canisterpierced his skull, medics and police sources told AFP. "The securityforces are getting closer to us, but the protesters are trying to hold them offby burning tires," a doctor in Tahrir told AFP. "We can hear livefire now and there are so many wounded."
Three protesterswere killed and dozens wounded in the southern city of Basra, medical sourcessaid, as security forces cleared a protest camp outside the provincialgovernment headquarters. Security forces also rounded up demonstrators inBasra. And in the revered Shiite holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, thetents of protesters were reduced to ashes when security forces fired searinghot tear gas canisters at them.
'Any means possible'
The bloodshedcame after political leaders agreed to rally around Prime Minister Adel AbdelMahdi, whose embattled government was threatened by the largest and deadliestgrassroots protests in Iraq in decades. Abdel Mahdi, 77, came to power lastyear through a shaky alliance between populist cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr and HadiAl-Ameri, a leader of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network.
When the protestsfirst erupted in October, Sadr threw his weight behind them while the Hashedbacked the government. But they closed rank around the premier this week aftera series of meetings led by Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of theIranian Revolutionary Guard's foreign operations arm. Soleimani, who oftenplays a mediating role during times of crisis in Iraq, met Sadr and persuadedhim to return to the fold, said a source present at the meetings. "Thosemeetings resulted in an agreement that Abdel Mahdi would remain inoffice," the source said.
Sadr has sincegone silent amid reports he is in Iran. The source also told AFP Soleimani metMohammed Ridha Sistani, the son of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand AyatollahAli Sistani. But on Saturday Sistani's office issued a statement denying thatcleric "was part of a deal for the current government to stay and theprotests to end". Another source said political factions agreed this weekto move forward on reforms and constitutional amendments if the premier andgovernment stayed in place. "They agreed to end the protests with anymeans possible and to reopen the bridges and shuttered streets," said asenior member of a party represented at the gathering.
Abdel Mahdi metPresident Barham Saleh yesterday for the first time in days. Government sourceshad told AFP ties between them had been cut after Saleh proposed the premier bereplaced. And yesterday, parliament convened to discuss reform proposals,including hiring drives and increased welfare payouts.
* Protestersdespair -
Meanwhile, thestreets around Tahrir were in chaos. "The security forces told us theprotests are over and everyone should go home," one protester shouted."But we put up more barricades so they won't enter Tahrir. Tomorrow, noone goes to work." Protesters are now on the back foot but still occupypart of Al-Jumhuriyah (Republic) Bridge, the closest to Tahrir. "Oursituation as protesters is not good, but we'll stay until we find asolution," said another protester.
Oil-rich Iraq isOPEC's second biggest producer, but one in five people live in poverty andyouth unemployment stands at 25 percent, the World Bank says. Those staggeringrates sparked the first wave of protests on Oct 1, and public anger quicklyspiralled into calls for the overhaul of the entire ruling system. Protesterssay the current framework allows political parties to dole out government jobsbased on affiliation and bribes, choking out independents in a country with aweak private sector. They are demanding profound reform and constitutionalamendments. Around 300 people have been killed in the protests, according totoll compiled by AFP. The government has stopped issuing figures. - AFP