On Saturday, the Iraqi capital and other southern cities are preparing for large-scale rallies in response to calls made in recent days to remember the “October uprisings” that erupted across the nation in 2019 and left hundreds of people dead and thousands more injured.
Eyewitnesses claimed to have heard explosions close to the strongly protected Green Zone while Baghdad had a security alert, although no official security confirmation was made in this regard.
While urging the protesters to work with the security to protect state institutions, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi emphasised that the security forces should clearly refrain from using guns in the face of the protesters.
He emphasised that using force or illegal means to disperse protests is never appropriate.
These instructions were given following multiple conflicts between security and protestors that took place in the city throughout the previous time and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries.
Iraqis still vividly recall the hundreds who perished in the country during the so-called “October Revolution” at the hands of security forces and pro-Iranian militias.
It is noteworthy that Iraq has experienced complete political paralysis since the early parliamentary elections on October 10th, 2021. Since July 2022, when the two parties to the most prominent dispute—Muqtada al-Sadr and the Coordinating Framework—took to the streets and staged a sit-in in the heart of Baghdad, the situation has gotten worse.
The conflict came to a head when the Sadrist movement demanded more than two months ago that the parliament be dissolved and that early legislative elections be held in order to move the nation toward reforms. This demand was rejected by its opponents, who insisted on forming a government with their candidate before any new elections.
30 people died as a result of the conflict’s violent skirmishes between the two sides in central Baghdad in late August 2022, which opened the door for the prospect of a risky re-escalation.
The “Tishreen revolutionaries” are expected in Baghdad, and Al-Khadra is hearing explosives.
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