The demonstrations left Tahrir Square after clashes with the police forces that left some hurt, amid a significant uptick in tensions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad over the past few hours.
According to a security source, in the specifics, on Saturday, the security forces started to reopen the capital’s highways after the protests had shut them down during the day and the protestors had left them.
He continued by saying that security started the process of opening the roadways one at a time, in accordance with a planned schedule.
Additionally, he affirmed that no decision has yet been made about the Jumhuriya, Al-Sink, and Al-Mu’allaq bridges.
These changes followed the “October Demonstrations” committee’s announcement on Saturday that the Iraqi political forces had until October 25 to put an end to the political process or else it would take “escalatory” action.
First and foremost, the demonstrations’ Central Committee called for the formation of an interim transitional government under UN supervision, provided that it excludes all members of the political and partisan leadership teams that presided over the nation in recent years, including the executive authority currently held by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.
The committee’s statement also made it clear that if the political forces did not heed its requests, it would launch a $1 million campaign to gather signatures on a petition against this system and urge all Iraqis to sign it.
It is significant that the Security Media Cell reported that throughout the capital’s protests, 19 security personnel and 9 citizens had been hurt.
To mark the third anniversary of the significant and unprecedented uprising against authority, the corrupting influence of the ruling class, and the poor management of public services in a nation experiencing total political paralysis, thousands of protesters gathered in Baghdad.
As they gathered in the iconic Tahrir Square to remember, the protestors, who were primarily young people, also chanted against politicians and militias while holding up Iraqi flags and images of the 2019 dead.
In order to restrict entry to the Green Zone, which is home to Western embassies and government institutions, they also congregated at the entrance to the Jumhuriya Bridge. This bridge was blocked off by three concrete blocks placed by security personnel.
It is significant that nationwide protests broke out in October 2019—particularly in the south’s impoverished governorates.
And it lasted for several months in the oil-rich nation. During that time, hundreds of thousands of protesters set up camp in Tahrir Square and called for an end to corruption, the expansion of unemployment, the failure of the infrastructure, the absence of democracy, and other issues.
However, the Covid pandemic’s constraints and the violence that has left nearly 600 people dead and 30,000 injured have sapped its momentum.
But three years later, little has altered in Iraq. The political scene is still paralysed, and the mood is tense.
The protesters left the centre of Baghdad, and the security opened the roadways.
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