Baghdad square reopens, 1 yr after protest closure

Iraqi security forces on Saturday reopened Baghdad's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the country's anti-government protests and a key bridge which had been sealed off by demonstrators since protests began in October last year. Security forces dismantled protesters' tents in Tahrir square early Saturday and re-opened the Al-Jumhuriyah Bridge which connects the heavily fortified Green Zone, where most government and foreign embassies are based, with the main protest camp at Tahrir Square. In Baghdad, key squares and roads that had previously been a focal point of protest violence were re-opened for vehicle access. In October 2019, mass anti-government protests erupted in Baghdad and across Iraq's predominately Shiite south as tens of thousands of angry Iraqi youth took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, poor services, including electricity, and unemployment. The demonstrations have been also critical of high unemployment and Iranian influence in Iraqi politics. Crackdowns by security forces have killed at least 600 protesters. Pressure from protests lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. His successor, Mustafa al-Kadhimi has vowed to meet protesters' demands by holding early elections and investigating protester deaths. The spread of the coronavirus had halted mass rallies and prompted most protesters to leave, with only a few remaining at the tent sit-in at Tahrir Square.

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Baghdad square reopens, 1 yr after protest closure

Security forces dismantled protesters' tents in Tahrir square early Saturday and re-opened the Al-Jumhuriyah Bridge which connects the heavily fortified Green Zone, where most government and foreign embassies are based, with the main protest camp at Tahrir Square.

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