At least 18 people were killed in clashes betweenanti-government protesters and police in Baghdad overnight, according to policeand medical sources, as the cabinet tried to appease public anger overcorruption and unemployment with a new reform plan.
The scale of the protests, in which nearly 100 peoplehave died since Tuesday, has taken the authorities by surprise. Two years afterthe defeat of Islamic State, security is better than it has been in years, butcorruption is rampant, wrecked infrastructure has not been rebuilt and jobsremain scarce.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's 17-point plan wasthe result of an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday night and comes afterdays of offering only vague reform promises.
It includes increased subsidized housing for thepoor, stipends for the unemployed as well as training programs and small loansinitiatives for unemployed youth.
The families of those killed during demonstrationsthis week will also get payouts and care usually granted to members of thesecurity forces killed during war.
"Amid all of this, I swear to God that my onlyconcern is for the casualties," Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi saidduring the cabinet meeting, according to state TV.
The streets of the capital were quiet so far onSunday. Protests have tended to gather steam later in the day.
The clashes shattered a day of relative calm onSaturday after authorities lifted a curfew and traffic moved normally in thecentre of Baghdad. Hundreds of security personnel were deployed in the streets.
The demonstrations began in Baghdad on Tuesday buthave spread quickly spread to other cities mainly in the south.
In the city of Nasiriya, where at least 18 peoplewere killed during the week, police fired live rounds at demonstrators onSaturday. Twenty-four people were wounded in the clashes overnight, includingseven policemen, according to security, hospital and morgue sources.
Protesters also torched the headquarters of severalpolitical parties in Nasiriya, police said. These included the headquarters ofthe powerful Dawa party that dominated Iraq's government from 2003 until 2018elections.
Violencealso broke out again in Diwaniya, another city south of Baghdad killing atleast one person, police said.
