Security forces in Iraq have used live fire and tear gas to disperse demonstrators in renewed anti-government protests in the capital and other cities amid reports of casualties.
The unrest on Wednesday came a day after at least two protesters - one in Baghdad and one in Nasiriyah - were killed and hundreds of people were wounded in clashes between police and protesters demanding jobs and better public services.
News agencies quoted medical and security sources as saying at least three people were killed on Wednesday. The death toll could not be independently verified.
The protests mark the first significant popular challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who formed his government a year ago.
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad, said the demonstrations had spread to several cities across the country, with demonstrators in Najaf and Nasiriyah reportedly setting fire to government buildings.
"Here in Baghdad, all throughout the evening, we've been hearing the sound of gun fire and sirens," he said, adding that the Iraqi government has been taken by surprise over the size of the rallies, which were mostly organised on social media.
"The government appears to be very concerned about these protests spreading. They are restricting live broadcasts from the protest scene, as well as social media, like Facebook and Twitter," he said.
On Wednesday, the iconic Tahrir Square in Baghdad where hundreds of protesters including university graduates had gathered the previous day was sealed off by heavily armed soldiers and dozens of riot policemen, with some demonstrators gathering around the edges.
Smaller crowds took to the streets in al-Shaab in north Baghdad and Zafaraniya in the south, a correspondent of the AFP news agency reported, with riot police attempting to disperse them with tear gas and live rounds fired in the air.
"I came out today in support of my brothers in Tahrir Square," Abdallah Walid told AFP in Zafaraniya, where protesters were burning tyres on streets lined with riot police vehicles.
"We want jobs and better public services. We've been demanding them for years and the government has never responded," the 27-year-old said.
AFP, citing medical sources, said some 60 people were wounded across Baghdad on Wednesday, including nine from bullet wounds.
Elsewhere, protesters tried to break into the municipality building in the eastern city of Kut, while hundreds took to the streets of Hilla and Diwaniya, in central Iraq, according to Reuters news agency. Thousands gathered in the oil-rich southern city of Basra in front of the provincial administration building but so far protests there were peaceful.
Peaceful protests were also reported in Samawa, while small rallies were held in the northern cities of Kirkuk and Tikrit, as well as in the eastern province of Diyala, Reuters reported.
Abdul Mahdi on Wednesday chaired an emergency meeting of the national security council, which later issued a statement regretting deaths and injuries on both sides during Tuesday's protests and affirming the right to protest and freedom of expression. It made no mention of Wednesday's protests.
"The council affirms the right to protest, freedom of expression, and the protesters' legitimate demands, but at the same time condemns the acts of vandalism that accompanied the protests," it said.
Appropriate measures to protect citizens, as well as public and private property would be taken, it added.
In a statement on Tuesday, Abdul Mahdi had promised jobs for unemployed graduates and instructed the oil ministry and other government bodies to start including a 50 percent quota for local workers in subsequent contracts with foreign companies.
According to the World Bank, youth unemployment in Iraq is more than 20 percent.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has expressed concern over the violence and urged calm, with the special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, reaffirming in a statement the right to protest.
Iraq's President Barham Salih, in a post on Twitter late on Tuesday, also reminded security forces that "peaceful protest is a constitutional right". He added: "Our young Iraqi children are looking for reform and jobs, and our duty is to meet these legitimate demands."
Moqtada al-Sadr, a powerful Shia leader, called for a "fair investigation" into Tuesday's events at Tahrir Square.
Parliament, too, has ordered an investigation into the violence and its human rights committee criticised security forces for their "suppression" of the demonstrations.Popular protests multiplied across Iraq on Wednesday as thousands of demonstrators braved live fire and tear gas in rallies that have left nine dead in 24 hours.
The demonstrations have posed the first major challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who formed his government a year ago this month and who controversially blamed the violence on “aggressors” among the protesters.
Since erupting in Baghdad on Tuesday, they have spread to other cities in the country’s south, with crowds railing against state corruption, failing public services and unemployment.
On Wednesday, five protesters and a police officer were shot dead in the southern city of Nasiriyah, a provincial health official told AFP.
That brought the death toll in the protests to nine, including one protester who died in Nasiriyah on Tuesday and two others in a large demonstration in Baghdad that degenerated into violence.
In the capital on Wednesday, riot police attempted to disperse crowds in a half-dozen neighbourhoods by unleashing tear gas and live rounds into the air.
Protesters regrouped and tried to reach Baghdad’s iconic Tahrir Square for the second day, but police had sealed off the area.
Later on Wednesday, military vehicles and security forces also deployed around the Green Zone, which hosts government buildings and embassies.
Access to the area would be completely denied “until further notice,” a government source told AFP.
The Green Zone had been inaccessible for most Iraqis since the Iraqi invasion in 2003 led by the United States (US) but had reopened to the public in June.
It has often been the focal point for public anger, including in 2016 when supporters of firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr stormed it and paralysed state institutions.
Late Wednesday, Sadr called for “peaceful protests and a general strike”.
Amid concerns over additional protests, Abdel Mahdi ordered that a curfew in Baghdad be implemented after Iraqi authorities announced Thursday would be an official holiday.
The curfew on “vehicles and people in Baghdad” comes into force at 5:00 am local time on Thursday.
Curfews had already been imposed in two cities, Nasiriyah and the holy city of Najaf, after protests broke out.
In Baghdad’s southern neighbourhood of Zaafaraniya, protesters burnt tyres on streets lined with police vehicles.
“We want jobs and better public services. We’ve been demanding them for years and the government has never responded,” said Abdallah Walid, 27.
Journalists covering protests in central Baghdad said security forces had assaulted them and detained one of their colleagues.
“No state would attack its own people like this. We’re being peaceful, but they fired,” said unemployed graduate Mohammad Jubury in the nearby Al-Shaab district.
Some 60 people were wounded across Baghdad on Wednesday, including nine from bullets and the rest from tear gas inhalation, medical sources said.
In addition to Baghdad and Nasiriyah, crowds also gathered in Najaf and the flashpoint southern city of Basra, which was rocked by protests last year.
Even after Tuesday’s protest in Baghdad was dispersed, heavy gunfire could be heard well into the night, including in the Sadr City district, where a funeral was held for the protester killed in the capital.
The other demonstrator killed in the capital was wounded Tuesday and succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.
It was not clear if bullets were fired directly at protesters or into the air.
Tuesday’s bloodshed drew condemnation from President Barham Saleh, who urged “restraint and respect for the law”.
“Peaceful protest is a constitutional right granted to citizens,” he said.
The United Nations (UN) top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed “grave concern” on Wednesday, saying she “deeply regrets the casualties”.
She urged authorities to “exercise restraint in their handling of the protests”.
Unusually for Iraq, no political faction had explicitly called for Tuesday’s protest, which appeared to be largely spontaneous.
The liberal newspaper Al-Bayina Al-Jadida said the protests were, “for the first time without flag, without poster or party slogan”.
They follow months of simmering frustration with Abdel Mahdi over a perceived lack of progress on corruption, unemployment or services.
Routine power cuts leave consumers without mains electricity for up to 20 hours a day and, according to the World Bank, youth unemployment runs at around 25 percent, or double the adult rate.
Protests over the same issues engulfed Basra last summer and effectively ended Abdel Mahdi’s predecessor Haider al-Abadi’s chances of a second term.
Abdel Mahdi now faces a similar challenge.
He convened his national security council for an emergency meeting on Wednesday, after paying tribute to the security forces and blaming the violence on “aggressors who… deliberately created casualties”.
Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told state media on Tuesday that “infiltrators were behind the violent acts in the protests”.
Their statements drew widespread online criticism, as some other politicians had thrown their weight behind the protesters.
Parliament has ordered a probe into the violence and its human rights committee criticised security forces for their “suppression” of the demonstrations.
The demonstrations have posed the first major challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who formed his government a year ago this month and who controversially blamed the violence on “aggressors” among the protesters.
Since erupting in Baghdad on Tuesday, they have spread to other cities in the country’s south, with crowds railing against state corruption, failing public services and unemployment.
On Wednesday, five protesters and a police officer were shot dead in the southern city of Nasiriyah, a provincial health official told AFP.
That brought the death toll in the protests to nine, including one protester who died in Nasiriyah on Tuesday and two others in a large demonstration in Baghdad that degenerated into violence.
In the capital on Wednesday, riot police attempted to disperse crowds in a half-dozen neighbourhoods by unleashing tear gas and live rounds into the air.
Protesters regrouped and tried to reach Baghdad’s iconic Tahrir Square for the second day, but police had sealed off the area.
Later on Wednesday, military vehicles and security forces also deployed around the Green Zone, which hosts government buildings and embassies.
Access to the area would be completely denied “until further notice,” a government source told AFP.
The Green Zone had been inaccessible for most Iraqis since the Iraqi invasion in 2003 led by the United States (US) but had reopened to the public in June.
It has often been the focal point for public anger, including in 2016 when supporters of firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr stormed it and paralysed state institutions.
Late Wednesday, Sadr called for “peaceful protests and a general strike”.
Amid concerns over additional protests, Abdel Mahdi ordered that a curfew in Baghdad be implemented after Iraqi authorities announced Thursday would be an official holiday.
The curfew on “vehicles and people in Baghdad” comes into force at 5:00 am local time on Thursday.
Curfews had already been imposed in two cities, Nasiriyah and the holy city of Najaf, after protests broke out.
In Baghdad’s southern neighbourhood of Zaafaraniya, protesters burnt tyres on streets lined with police vehicles.
“We want jobs and better public services. We’ve been demanding them for years and the government has never responded,” said Abdallah Walid, 27.
Journalists covering protests in central Baghdad said security forces had assaulted them and detained one of their colleagues.
“No state would attack its own people like this. We’re being peaceful, but they fired,” said unemployed graduate Mohammad Jubury in the nearby Al-Shaab district.
Some 60 people were wounded across Baghdad on Wednesday, including nine from bullets and the rest from tear gas inhalation, medical sources said.
In addition to Baghdad and Nasiriyah, crowds also gathered in Najaf and the flashpoint southern city of Basra, which was rocked by protests last year.
Even after Tuesday’s protest in Baghdad was dispersed, heavy gunfire could be heard well into the night, including in the Sadr City district, where a funeral was held for the protester killed in the capital.
The other demonstrator killed in the capital was wounded Tuesday and succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.
It was not clear if bullets were fired directly at protesters or into the air.
Tuesday’s bloodshed drew condemnation from President Barham Saleh, who urged “restraint and respect for the law”.
“Peaceful protest is a constitutional right granted to citizens,” he said.
The United Nations (UN) top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed “grave concern” on Wednesday, saying she “deeply regrets the casualties”.
She urged authorities to “exercise restraint in their handling of the protests”.
Unusually for Iraq, no political faction had explicitly called for Tuesday’s protest, which appeared to be largely spontaneous.
The liberal newspaper Al-Bayina Al-Jadida said the protests were, “for the first time without flag, without poster or party slogan”.
They follow months of simmering frustration with Abdel Mahdi over a perceived lack of progress on corruption, unemployment or services.
Routine power cuts leave consumers without mains electricity for up to 20 hours a day and, according to the World Bank, youth unemployment runs at around 25 percent, or double the adult rate.
Protests over the same issues engulfed Basra last summer and effectively ended Abdel Mahdi’s predecessor Haider al-Abadi’s chances of a second term.
Abdel Mahdi now faces a similar challenge.
He convened his national security council for an emergency meeting on Wednesday, after paying tribute to the security forces and blaming the violence on “aggressors who… deliberately created casualties”.
Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told state media on Tuesday that “infiltrators were behind the violent acts in the protests”.
Their statements drew widespread online criticism, as some other politicians had thrown their weight behind the protesters.
Parliament has ordered a probe into the violence and its human rights committee criticised security forces for their “suppression” of the demonstrations.
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