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Agence France-Presse

Iraqi security forces clashed with anti-government protesters near the capital’s Tahrir Square on Saturday as anti-government rallies which have rocked Baghdad for a month cost more lives.
The violence in Baghdad has been centred on two bridges linking Tahrir to the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River where most government buildings and foreign embassies are located.
Riot police deployed along the bridges on Saturday fired tear gas to keep back protesters, who have dug in to their positions behind their own barricade.
One demonstrator was killed there overnight, and another died during the day on Saturday, medical sources confirmed to AFP.
Dozens more were wounded in the clashes.

The protests have evolved since October 1 from rage over corruption and unemployment into a wholesale condemnation of Iraq’s political and religious class.
The movement has swollen as students, trade unions and NGOs joined in.
On Saturday, nearly 200 Iraqis with special needs organised their own small march in Baghdad to show support.
“Our rights have been overlooked for years because of corruption,” said Muadh al-Kaabi, 30, a blind teacher who works in a special needs school.
“There are four million people with special needs across Iraq – and the numbers are only growing because of the wars we have been through,” he told AFP.
Iraq has suffered decades of back-to-back conflicts, including war with Iran, the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein and years of sectarian infighting.
Since then, its political system has been gripped by clientelism, corruption and sectarianism, prompting protesters to call for the total “downfall of the regime.”

They have so far been unimpressed by the government’s proposed reforms, including early elections.
“We’ve been having elections for 16 years, and we’ve got nothing,” said Haydar, 30, a protester in Tahrir.
Another activist, Mohammad, 22, said the demonstrators should not accept such “fake reforms”.
“People are very aware of what’s happening: we’ve got to an important phase and can’t lose it all now,” he added.
Protesters have occupied Tahrir Square for more than a week, repeatedly defying an army order to clear the streets between midnight and 6am.
The military on Saturday shortened that curfew to 2am – 6am, but many demonstrators planned to stay in the square overnight.
Eight more killed in fresh clashes in Iraqi capital
Buildings around the square are blanketed with the banners of young Iraqis who have died in the skirmishes with the riot police.
Over the past month, more than 250 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in the rallies.
The latest official toll was provided on Wednesday, but medical sources said at least nine demonstrators have been killed since.
Eight of them died around Tahrir, where clashes between riot police and security forces have escalated.
The ninth victim was killed by the security guards of a local politician in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
Rights group Amnesty International slammed Iraqi forces this week for using two types of military-grade tear gas canisters that have pierced protesters’ skulls and lungs.


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Iraq

Violence continues in Baghdad as Iraqi anti-government protesters and security forces clash

Iraqi women take part at an anti-government protest in the holy city of Najaf. Photo: Reuters

An Iraqi protester sits with his dog during ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, south of Iraq's capital Baghdad, on November 2, 2019. - Iraqi security forces clashed with anti-government protesters near the capital's Tahrir Square today as anti-government rallies which have rocked Baghdad for a month cost more lives. (Photo by Mohammed SAWAF / AFP)

Iraqis take part in an anti-government protest in the southern city of Basra on November 1, 2019. - Iraq's top cleric warned foreign actors today against interfering in his country's anti-government protests as they entered a second month despite pledges of reform and violence that has left over 250 dead (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP)

Eight more killed in fresh clashes in Iraqi capital as death toll from continued violent protests soars past 100

Iraqi security forces chase anti-government protesters who set fire during a demonstration in Baghdad. Photo: AP Photo

Iraqi Army troops deploy at a site of protests in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. The spontaneous protests which started Tuesday in Baghdad and southern cities were sparked by endemic corruption and lack of jobs. Security forces responded with a harsh crackdown, with dozens killed. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Iraqi security forces prevent anti-government protesters from going to the site of protests in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

More than 80 people killed by security forces as Iraq protests spiral out of control

Anti-government protesters set fires and close a street during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday,. Photo: AP Photo

(191005) -- BAGHDAD, Oct. 5, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Protesters gather in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 5, 2019. Death toll in five days of violent protests in Iraqi capital Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces climbed to 99 with nearly 4,000 people wounded, a member of the Iraqi human rights body said on Saturday. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Anti-government protesters set fires and close a street during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. Iraqi protesters pressed on with angry anti-government rallies across several provinces, in some cases torching party offices, for the fifth day, ignoring appeals for calm from political and religious leaders. Security agencies kept up their heavy crackdown, firing live ammunition and killing more than 14 protesters Saturday. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

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Riot police deployed along the bridges on Saturday fired tear gas to keep back protesters, who have dug in to their positions behind their own barricade



Riot police deployed along the bridges on Saturday fired tear gas to keep back protesters, who have dug in to their positions behind their own barricade.


Iran

Violence continues in Baghdad as Iraqi anti-government protesters and security forces clash

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Riot police deployed along the bridges on Saturday fired tear gas to keep back protesters, who have dug in to their positions behind their own barricade

Riot police deployed along the bridges on Saturday fired tear gas to keep back protesters, who have dug in to their positions behind their own barricade