Demonstrators in Baghdad and in the south of the country calling for change to Iraq's political system blocked roads and government buildings on Sunday, which hampered road movement and the work of government agencies.
"We decided to cut the roads as a message to the government that we will keep protesting until the corrupt people and thieves are kicked out and the regime falls", said 25-year-old Tahseen Nasser in the town of Kut, east of the capital.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel-Abdel Mahdi calls for life to return to normal after days of massive anti-government protests that have paralyzed the country https://t.co/qvaylByzdA
— dpa news agency (@dpa_intl) November 3, 2019
Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has urged protesters to stop hindering road traffic as they had already achieved their goals.
"Threatening the oil interests and blocking roads leading to Iraq's ports is causing big losses exceeding billions of dollars", said Abdul Mahdi, warning that demonstrations was pushing up goods prices.
رئيس الوزراء العراقي عادل عبد المهدي يدعو إلى استئناف الحياة الطبيعية وفتح أبواب المدارس والجامعات على أن تستمر التظاهرات، ويحذر من احتمال أن يندس مخربون في الحركات الاحتجاجية التي يشهدها العراق، كما يجدد حرص الحكومة العراقية على حماية حقوق المواطنين بما في ذلك حق التظاهر السلمي pic.twitter.com/zy8D4e8kCK
— صحيفة الرؤية (@Alroeya) November 3, 2019
Some students, who joined protests along with trade union members, parked cars along the major roads to block traffic, with police officers taking no actions to suppress such a move.
Other students participated in sit-ins at their schools amid the national teachers'union strike which started last week. The engineering, doctors, and lawyers' unions have supported the protests in their turn.
Iraqi students take to the streets in anti-government protests https://t.co/NPONyExErZ pic.twitter.com/WLXFoDmJVH
— Andy Vermaut (@AndyVermaut) November 3, 2019
In late October, according to the Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), over one hundred protesters were killed and some 5,500 injured in the second wave of unrest.
Meanwhile in #Iraq :Impressing #IraqiProtests continue.The people are fed up after 40 years war,violence, corruption,no jobs,energy,water.They want change to real democracy&state with rule of law. New honest elections under guidance of @UNIraq Iraq with a good life for all Iraqi! pic.twitter.com/xL1tTekLTB
— Monique VosVerwaijen (@vosjemonique) November 3, 2019
According to the IHCHR, the first wave of unrest took the lives of around 150 protesters with some 3,500 more being injured.
#IraqiProtests
— Tahany Saleh (@tahanysaleh4) November 3, 2019
Oct, Nov. 2019 in Iraq pic.twitter.com/iGNrKaHExo
In the wake of the protests, Iraqi President Barham Salih has stated that Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi agreed to step down as protesters demand, but on the condition that political parties of Iraq agree on his successor in order to avoid anarchy.
