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On the road to a collision? Supporters of Shiite militias flocked to the protest square in Baghdad - Walla! news

2019-12-05T17:23:36.322Z


Several thousand people, carrying posters of fighters killed and signs against the US and Israel, merged with the anti-government protesters in the Iraqi capital. "They destroyed it, it's going to be a mess," they said ...


On the road to a collision? Supporters of Shiite militias flocked to the protest square in Baghdad

Several thousand people, carrying posters of fighters killed and ruled against the US and Israel, merged with protesters against the government in Iraq's capital. "They destroyed it, going to be a mess," said protesters fearing clashes between the parties. Protest continues despite PM's resignation

On the road to a collision? Supporters of Shiite militias flocked to the protest square in Baghdad

Photo: Reuters, Edit: Amit Simcha

Several thousands of protesters supporting the pro-Iranian Shiite militias flocked Thursday to the main protest camp in the Iraqi capital, joining the protesters against the government opposing Tehran's involvement in their state.

Supporters of al-Hashad al-Sha'abi's force, made up of Iranian-trained or pentagonal militias, arrived at Tahrir Square in Baghdad in concerted marches from various areas of the capital, waving sticks, Iraqi flags and the Shiite symbol of power. Some carried pictures of militants killed in fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the image of the country's most senior Shiite cleric, Ali Sisthani.

Al-Hashad al-Sha'abi backed the Iraqi government until last Friday, Sisthani called for the resignation of the government, and Shi'ite power withdrew his support for it and Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi resigned.

Protesters staying in the square for the past few weeks have expressed explicit resentment against Iran, for their support of the Iraqi political elite whom they denounce as corrupt and incompetent. They insist current government officials are tainted by corruption, and are wary of political officials trying to embrace the movement consisting mostly of young people.

"Death to America." Baghdad militia supporters today (Photo: AFP)

Supporters of Shiite Militia Protesters, Baghdad, Iraq, December 5, 2019 (Photo: AFP, GettyImages)

The new protesters merged with thousands of other protesters in the square, who seemed concerned, although no clashes or clashes were recorded. "They destroyed it," one protester said, according to the French news agency, while another murmured: "There's going to be a mess."

Some Shiite militias have seen signs saying "Death to America" ​​and "Death to Israel," which Iranian officials say have been responsible for the most mass protests in Iraq since the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's 2003 regime.

Mass rallies have shaken the capital and the Shiite-majority southern state since early October, initially focusing on government corruption and unemployment, and subsequently shifting to a deeper regime change and denouncing the Iranian whim. According to data collected by the French news agency, some 430 people were killed and about 20,000 injured since the demonstrations began.

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(Photo: AFP)

Supporters of Shiite Militia Protesters, Baghdad, Iraq, December 5, 2019 (Photo: AFP, GettyImages)

Source: walla

All news articles on 2019-12-05

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