SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Thousands of Iraqis headed on Sunday to Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and Green Zone to mark the first anniversary of a protest movement against the country’s political class.
“Our blood, our souls, we sacrifice for you Iraq,” chanted hundreds of protesters as they marched through the epicenter of the protest movement.
The renewed mobilization has retained protesters’ key demand of the ouster of the entire ruling class accused of corruption.
“This is an important day, we are here to keep the movement going,” student Mohamed Ali said in the square, epicenter of the revolt, according to AFP.
“We have the same demands as last year,” Ali told AFP.
In a months-long revolt launched in October 2019, hundreds of thousands of protesters camped out in Baghdad and southern cities to demand a total overhaul of a political system failing to deliver basic services and salaries.
About 600 protesters were killed and 30,000 wounded in clashes with security forces before the movement lost momentum then ground to a halt in the spring due to the coronavirus crisis and rising US-Iran tensions.
Since Saturday, military checkpoints and roadblocks have been erected around the square and the Green Zone, which is off-limits to Iraqi citizens.
Large groups of protesters also gathered in other southern provinces including Babylon and Basra, holding posters and chanting anti-government slogans.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had given strict orders to security forces to avoid the use of live ammunition and called on protesters to remain peaceful.
