Nationwide protests leave 16 dead in Iraq

Baghdad (dpa) 3 Oct 2019 - Most areas in Baghdad were quiet on Thursday as Iraqi authorities enforced a curfew after two days of anti-government protests across the country left 16 dead and hundreds injured.  

According to Ali al-Bayati, a member of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq, 856 people have been wounded since the protests over unemployment, corruption and poor public services erupted on Tuesday.  

Some 671 of them were civilians and the rest were security personnel, he said.   On Thursday, two people were killed in Dhi Qar and one in Najaf provinces, increasing the death toll to 16, al-Bayati told dpa. A member of the security forces was among those killed.  

He said 132 protesters were arrested since Tuesday, although most of them have already been released.  

Security forces were heavily deployed across Baghdad on Thursday and only ambulances and government vehicles were seen on the streets.