Iraqi PM demands parliament reshuffle as unrest spreads in Iraq

Fri 04 October 2019:

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi on Thursday urged lawmakers to support him to reshuffle cabinet posts and urged calm after three days of deadly civil unrest rocked the country.

Abdul Mahdi said there was no ‘magic solution’ to Iraq’s chronic governance problems and graft but pledged to try to pass a law granting poor families a basic income.

He gave his remarks in a televised speech as protesters demanded the fall of the government.

The prime minister said protesters’ calls to end corruption were “correct” but said the government must be helped to carry out its duties. Ministerial amendments must be approved by parliament.

Abdul Mahdi on Wednesday declared a curfew in Baghdad until further notice after at least seven people were killed and more than 400 were injured during two days of nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Unrest spreads 

The protests spread to other cities in predominantly Shi’ite Muslim southern Iraq, where policemen said they increasingly encountered demonstrators carrying weapons.

In the last three days, at least 20 protesters and one policeman were killed in four provinces. On Thursday, the first death was reported in Baghdad where one protester was killed as the demonstrators pushed their way toward Tahrir Square in the city center.

The square has been off-limits since Wednesday night just before the curfew.

Soon after, protesters overpowered a soldier in his armored vehicle, setting it on fire and warning other security forces to stay away from the square. The protesters then marched toward the square. There were also fires set to parts of government buildings in the southern provinces of Najaf and Dhiqar.