Violent demonstrations take place in Iraq

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Violent demonstrations take place in Iraq's Salahudin province
Xinhua
Feb. 25, 2010
 
TIKRIT, Iraq, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Violent demonstrations took place in several cities in Salahudin province in north of Baghdad on Friday as part of massive protests across the country that left dozens of people dead and injured.

More than 1,000 protestors rallied outside the Salahudin provincial government building in central the provincial capital city of Tirik, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a Xinhua correspondent at the scene said.

The protestors stoned the government building and clashed with the guards demanding resignation of the provincial governor and the provincial council members, who are blamed by the protestors of being behind the deterioration of public services and corruption.

Also in the province, angry protestors attacked the city council of Sulaiman-Pek and set fire to the building after clashes with the security forces. Seven people were injured, a local security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Salahudin province, located in northern central of Iraq, is mainly a Sunni province. Its capital city of Tikrit is the hometown of the former president Saddam Hussien.

The demonstrations are part of nation-wide protests called on by Iraqi groups on the social networking website Facebook to be held on February 25, asking Iraqis to hold what they named " Revolution of Iraqi Rage," or "Day of Rage" across the country, in a move widely seen inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt.

Recently, several thousands of Iraqis sporadically took to the streets in several provinces across the country protesting unemployment and a sharp rise in the prices of food staples, as well as demanding better public services.

Special Report: Situation in Iraq


 

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Demonstration turn violent in central Baghdad
Xinhua
Feb. 25, 2010
 

BAGHDAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of protestors rallied in central Baghdad on Friday, sparking sporadic clashes with Iraqi security forces which have tightened security and virtually locked down the capital since Thursday night.

Many young men tried to take down a concrete wall that was set up in the early morning on the al-Jumhoriyah bridge to prevent demonstrators from reaching the Green Zone that houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. embassy.

Iraqi security forces clashed with the demonstrators who stoned the anti-riot forces, wounding two people.

Since the morning, hundreds of demonstrators poured from different neighborhoods of Baghdad to al-Tahrir, or Liberation, Square in central Baghdad, shouting "No to unemployment, No to corruption."

The Iraqi security forces tightened security measures as hundreds of Iraqi security members were deployed across the capital, particularly in al-Tahrir square, which is located just across the Tigris River near the Green Zone.

Late on Thursday, Baghdad operation command, responsible for security in the capital, imposed traffic ban on all kinds of vehicles, motorcycles and bikes until further notice as part of the security measures for fear of chaos during Friday's demonstrations.

The demonstration is part of nation-wide protests called by Iraqi groups on the social networking website Facebook to be held on Feb. 25, asking Iraqis to hold what they named "Revolution of Iraqi Rage," or "Day of Rage," across the country, in a move widely seen inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt.

Recently, several thousand of Iraqis sporadically took to the streets in several provinces across the country, protesting unemployment and a sharp rise in the prices of food staples, as well as demanding better public services.