Clashes between Iraqi security, protestors leave 1 dead, 12 injured

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – One protester was killed, and a dozen others injured when security forces clashed with demonstrators in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, officials said on Saturday.

Iraqi security forces fired rubber bullets at protesters, killing one who was struck, the Associated Press reported. Twelve others were wounded in the altercation.

Iraq’s Parliament was due to hold a session on Saturday to discuss the ongoing unrest in the country, but it was canceled due to a lack of quorum. The meeting is postponed to Monday.

Demonstrators in Iraq are calling for radical change in Iraq’s political system, which they say fails to address their needs, but, rather, serves the interests of a small governing elite.

The protests over the past month and a half reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, a call for more jobs, the dismal state of public services, and widespread government corruption.

Since they began in early October, widespread protests in Iraq have resulted in the deaths of over 300, while some 12,000 have been injured, according to Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights.

The United Nations, as well as Amnesty International, have called for an end to the bloodshed and urged security forces to show restraint against protestors.