Eight Iraqis were killed and dozens wounded on Saturday, police and hospital sources said, as demonstrators and security forces clashed in a second day of protests against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government.
The unrest followed violence on Friday in which at least 52 people were killed around the country as protesters vented frustration at political elites they say have failed to improve their lives after years of conflict and economic hardship.
In Baghdad, security forces lobbed tear gas to try to disperse demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Four were killed after being struck directly in the head by tear gas canisters, police and hospital sources said. Two people were in critical condition from similar injuries.
Four protesters were killed and 17 people were wounded amid chaos in the southern city of Nasiriya, where demonstrators came out in their thousands despite the heavy presence of security forces.
The deaths occurred when a group of protesters broke off from thousands gathered in central Nasiriya to storm the house of a local security official, police said. Guards opened fire after the protesters torched the building, police said.
Earlier in October, 157 people were killed and more than 6,000 wounded in other clashes between protesters and security forces.
The unrest has broken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq, which from 2003 to 2017 went through a foreign occupation, civil war and an Islamic State insurgency.
As sirens wailed and tuk-tuks ferried bloodied protesters to hospitals, others expressed outrage at a political establishment so willing to resort to violence.
“The (political) parties today after 16 years have only robbed and plundered,” said 33-year-old demonstrator Silwan Ali.
“Our protests are peaceful, we only have flags and water bottles, but they keep firing bombs at us, firing tear gas at us; what have we done to deserve this? What have we done? The young men who died, what did they do?” he said.