At least 40protesters were killed in Iraq on Friday when security forces used tear gas andan Iranian-backed militia opened fire to try to quell renewed demonstrationsagainst corruption and economic hardship, security sources said.
A governmentintelligence officer and a member of the powerful Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia werekilled in a clash with protesters in the southern city of Amara, police sourcessaid.
More than 2,000people were injured nationwide, according to medical sources and the Iraqi HighCommission on Human Rights (IHCHR), as demonstrators vented frustration atpolitical elites they say have failed to improve their lives after years ofconflict.
"All we wantare four things: jobs, water, electricity, and safety. That's all wewant," said 16-year-old Ali Mohammed who had covered his face with aT-shirt to avoid inhaling tear gas, as chaotic scenes overwhelmed Baghdad'scentral Tahrir Square.
Sirens wailed andtear gas canisters landed amid groups of young protesters draped in Iraqi flagsand chanting "with life and blood we defend you Iraq."
The bloodshed isthe second major bout of violence this month. A series of clashes two weeks agobetween protesters and security forces left 157 people dead and over 6,000wounded.
The unrest hasbroken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq, which lived throughforeign occupation, civil war and an Islamic State (IS) insurgency between 2003and 2017. It is the biggest challenge to security since IS was declared beaten.
On Friday, eightprotesters were killed in Baghdad, the IHCHR said. At least five of them wereprotesters struck by tear gas canisters, security sources said.
