Iraqi PM's fate in limbo as protests swell

Two people were killed on Wednesday as Iraqi security forces shot tear gas canisters directly into their heads in an attempt to stop protesters entering the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, according to security and medical sources.

At least 175 people were wounded as protesters thronged the center of the capital in a show of fury at a political elite they see as deeply corrupt and responsible for widespread economic hardship.

Initially, festive street rallies took a violent turn by nightfall when a group of protesters tried to storm a bridge leading to the Green Zone, which hosts government offices and foreign offices.

A rocket was seen flying towards the Green Zone and a blast was heard coming from that direction. The military said the rocket had crashed inside, killing a member of the security forces.

Iraqi security forces block a road in the high-security Green Zone with concrete barriers during a protest against unemployment, corruption and lack of public services, at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, October 26, 2019. /VCG Photo

Iraq's most powerful politicians appeared to withhold support for Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi as anti-government protests have swelled into the biggest mass demonstrations the country has seen since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

While Abdul Mahdi's fate was not yet clear, demonstrators said it would be not enough to remove him after four weeks of unrest in which more than 250 people have been killed.

Middle-class families with small children joined youths from poor neighborhoods on Wednesday to brave tear gas and barricades in Baghdad's Tahrir Square.

"No Moqtada, no Hadi!" protesters chanted, denouncing what they perceived as an effort by the leaders of parliament's two largest blocs – populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and militia leader Hadi al-Amiri – to cling to the power behind the scenes with or without the prime minister they installed a year ago.

Sadr has demanded Abdul Mahdi call an early election. When the premier refused, Sadr called on Amiri, his main political rival, to help oust him.

Iraqi students take part in an anti-government demonstration in front of their university in the center of the southern city of Basra, October 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

Amiri issued a statement overnight that was initially seen as accepting Sadr's call to ditch Abdul Mahdi. But a day of silence followed, leaving the premier's fate in the balance.

"We will work together to secure the interests of the Iraqi people and save the nation in accordance with the public good," Amiri had said in an overnight statement.

Despite promising reforms to help rein in corruption and ordering a broad reshuffle of the cabinet, Abdul Mahdi has done little to address the demonstrators' complaints. Parliament passed measures on Monday including reduced salaries for officials, but protesters derided this as too little too late.

(Cover: Demonstrators run after Iraqi security forces fired tear gas during a protest over corruption, lack of jobs and poor services in Baghdad, October 28, 2019. /VCG Photo)

(CGTN)