The tougher intervention of the security forces comes as a result of an agreement by the main political forces to put an end to the protests, including by force, to maintain power.
The Iraqi capital looked like a battlefield on Saturday, November 9th. At the edge of Tahrir Square in Baghdad, four protesters were killed, three by bullets and the fourth hit by a tear gas grenade in the face, according to medical and security sources.
Earlier in the day, three protesters were also killed in a live ammunition bombing in Basra, a southern city where law enforcement officers are now arresting anyone who tries to go out on the streets. Triggered on 1st October, the protest calls for the departure of the entire political class, unchanged for years and considered corrupt and incompetent.
The tougher intervention of the security forces comes as a result of an agreement by the main political forces to put an end to the protests, including by force, to maintain power. While a movement of civil disobedience has blocked schools, administrations and infrastructure for several days, this agreement for a «Back to normal life» fears more violence. At the end of the afternoon in Tahrir Square, a doctor told Agence France-Presse (AFP) "Live ammunition" while "The security forces are getting closer". Even before daybreak, the security forces chased the protesters from three bridges near Tahrir Square, where they camped day and night. In Basra, security forces arrested all those who tried to escape into the streets of the oil city, according to witnesses.
PM promises electoral reform
Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, however, seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone towards the protesters, who demand his resignation. Movement is a legitimate driver of political change, he conceded, while urging them not to disrupt "Normal course of life". "Forces and political parties are important institutions in any democratic system and they have made great sacrifices, but they have also made many mistakes"he had recognized. In particular, he promised electoral reform.
A time in the hot seat, Adel Abdel Mahdi is now consensus among parties and politicians. Those who had time for his departure, in front of which the versatile Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, turned around, especially under the pressure of neighboring Iran and its allies in Baghdad. President Barham Saleh and the prime minister, who had stopped talking to each other according to officials, even showed up together on Saturday.
About 300 people, mostly demonstrators, were killed and more than 12,000 wounded, according to a report compiled by AFP. For the hundreds of protesters in Tahrir Square, the Internet shutdown since the beginning of the week fears the worst. The first week of October, in a country cut off from the world, 157 people died while snipers deployed on the roofs sowed terror. More than a month later – and nearly 140 more deaths – the state has recognized a "Excessive" of force by his men but assures he still can not identify these shooters.
