Travelers to and from the city’s airport, and ambulances,
It gave provincial governors discretion whether to announce curfews in their provinces.
GOVERNMENT STRESSES RIGHT TO PEACEFUL PROTEST
Before announcing the curfew in Baghdad, the Iraqi premier held an emergency meeting with members of the National Security Council.
"The council stressed that appropriate measures should be taken to protect citizens and public and private properties," read a statement released by Abdul-Madhi’s office on Wednesday, expressing the government’s resolve to make all efforts "to meet the legitimate demands of the demonstrators."
The council further affirmed the demonstrators’ "right to protest" and "freedom of expression..., but at the same time condemns the acts of vandalism that accompanied the protests."
Curfews had already been imposed in the Iraqi cities of Nasiriyah, Amarah, and Hilla.
Demonstrations erupted on Tuesday over what is said to be unemployment and poor public services.
31 dead, 1188 maimed in Iraq since anti-gov’t protests started Tuesday
[Rudaw] Iran urges pilgrims to postpone Iraq visits as deadly protests spread.
Shiite pilgrims should postpone their Arbaeen pilgrimage to Iraq’s holy shrine cities until mass protests sweeping the country die down, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.
"We are certain that the government and the people of Iraq will act to calm down the tense atmosphere and will not allow some movement to continue which will be taken advantage of by foreigners," Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
However,
the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything...
it called on Iranians "to postpone their trips to Iraq until the conditions settle down and heed the warnings of the political and security officials of the Arbaeen".
A senior pilgrimage official told Iranian state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
the Khosravi border crossing between Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan,the abbreviation
IRGCis a cognate form of
Stürmabteilung (or SA),the term
Supreme Guideis a cognate form of either
Shahor
Führeror maybe both, and they hate
and Iraq has been closed, but other crossings will remain open, Rooters reports.
Millions of Shiite Moslems from across the world travel to Iraq’s holy shrine city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen every year. The ministry’s call to postpone the pilgrimage reflects how violent the protests have become since they began in the capital Baghdad on Tuesday.
Protesters rallied in Tahrir Square to demand action on corruption, unemployment, and the lack of basic services, among other burning issues facing the Iraqi public. Security forces were heavy handed in their response, firing on protesters with live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons.
Thirty-one people have been killed and 1,188 maimed across the country since the protests began on Tuesday, Hemin Bajalan, a member of Iraq’s Human Rights Commission, told Rudaw. At least 257 people have been detained. Of these, 209 are still in jug.
Internet services are down across southern Iraqi cities, which have also been placed under curfew.
"The Iraqi government intentionally cutting off internet services for Baghdad and the rest of Iraqi provinces constitutes a violation of the freedom of expression and silences the people," Sarmad al-Badri, media officer of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, told Rudaw on Thursday.
Rudaw’s news hound in Baghdad could not broadcast live from the protests due to the internet blackout. Reporting from the scene by telephone, he said security forces had imposed an indefinite curfew since 5am. All vehicles and pedestrians have been prevented from entering public spaces including Tahrir Square.
"What do we want? We just want these young people to have jobs, to have money. That is why we are out. We don’t need another thing. Don’t we have oil? We just want to become like an Arab Gulf country," one protestor told Rudaw near the square.
The protests have spread beyond the capital. Rasheed al-Saray, a member of Dhi Qar provincial council, told Rudaw on Thursday protests had broken out there too.
"The protests started in Nasriyah, al-Rafai, al-Shiyukh bazar, al-Shatrah, and al-Diwaya," al-Saray said.
"It is possible for the protests to resurge Thursday evening in a number of towns in Dhi Qar province," he added.
A medical source at the Dhi Qar Health Directorate told Rudaw on Thursday that al-Nasiryah hospital has received three dead and 35 maimed. They expect the number of casualties to rise.
Canada issued new travel advice on Thursday for nationals visiting Iraq.
"Expect road closures, including those leading to the Baghdad International Airport, and areas to be sealed off, including the Green Zone. Curfews and other security restrictions can be imposed at short notice. Restrictions to internet and social media may occur," the Canadian government said.
The protests pose a serious threat to the government of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who has been in office for less than a year. Last summer, Iraqis also erupted into the streets to demand jobs, electricity, and basic services. The violent crackdown which followed cost former prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s chances of securing a second term in office.
| Al Ahram adds: |
Nearby Amarah has also seen significant bloodshed, with medics and security sources reporting four protesters shot dead on Thursday.
Later in the day, two protestors and a police officer were killed in Diwaniyah, 150 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad, and a curfew was subsequently imposed.
ANGER BOILS OVER
Rallies began Tuesday in Baghdad but have since spread across the mainly Shiite south, including the provinces of Dhi Qar, Missan, Najaf, Basra, Wasit and Babylon. Several cities have imposed curfews, but protesters flooded the streets regardless.
The Kurdish northern regions and Sunni western provinces, meanwhile, have remained relatively calm.
Tensions have been exacerbated by the closure of government offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for "a general strike". Sadr was behind the last round of major protests in Baghdad in 2016, when his supporters stormed the Green Zone, home to some ministries and embassies. His involvement appears much more limited this time, but if his followers join the protests en masse, the rallies will likely balloon even further.
Approximately 75 percent of Iraq is "offline" after major network operators "intentionally restricted" access, according to cybersecurity monitor NetBlocks.
Coalition troops in Iraq ‘reserve the right' to self-defense after Green Zone blast
[Rudaw] The US-led coalition in Iraq said in a Thursday statement they would reserve the right to defend themselves following a blast earlier this morning in Baghdad’s Green Zone amid escalating unrest nationwide as protesters demand an end to rampant corruption and lack of basic services.
“This morning’s blast in the international zone is under investigation by the Iraqi security forces,” the emailed statement read. ”No coalition facility was struck.”
“We always reserve the right to defend ourselves, attacks on our personnel will not be tolerated,” the statement added.