Politics

Death toll in Iraq protests reaches 460, over 17,400 injured: Iraqi rights commission

“At least 460 protestors were killed in October and November in various central and southern cities, including Baghdad.”

Kurdistan 24 2019/12/04 12:28

middle east Iraq Iraq Protests Human Rights Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The death toll in Iraq’s anti-government protests has reached at least 460, with tens of thousands more injured, Iraq’s Independent High Commission for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

“At least 460 protestors were killed in October and November in various central and southern cities, including Baghdad,” Ali al-Bayati, a representative of the commission, said in a statement.

Bayati added that civilians wounded during the demonstrations surpassed 17,400, with over 3,000 of them permanently disabled.

The protests in Iraq reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, a call for more jobs, the dismal state of public services, and widespread government corruption.

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.

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 developments have forced Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi to hand in his resignation. In a special session held on Sunday in Baghdad, the Iraqi Parliament voted to accept Abdul Mahdi’s resignation.

According to Bayati, the prime minister’s resignation will not end the unrest in Iraq because the country is in “an ongoing political and security crisis.”

“The government’s resignation will not suffice to absorb the anger of the protestors.”