Iraq - 16+ years after US invastion

Despite the Opec member country’s vast oil wealth, many Iraqis live in poverty or have limited access to clean water, electricity, basic healthcare and education. Iraq is struggling to recover from years of conflict following the US-led invasion in 2003 that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein.

Iraqis blame a political elite they say is subservient to one or other of Iraq‘s two main allies, the United States and Iran. Many suspect these powers use Iraq as a proxy to pursue their struggle for regional influence, without concern for the needs of ordinary people.

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Thousands of Iraqi protesters occupied Baghdad’s central Tahrir square on Sunday, defying a bloody crackdown that killed scores over the weekend and an overnight raid by security forces seeking to disperse them.

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Protesters were locked in a cycle on Sunday of advancing deeper into Tahrir square and towards the Green Zone which houses government buildings, then retreating when the barrage of teargas canisters became too much.

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More women joined the protests on Sunday, from university and high school students to government employees and even old ladies in black abayas, the robe-like dresses worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world. Medical students formed small teams that treated the demonstrators, as tuk-tuks swarmed around carrying the badly injured to ambulances. Tents were erected from which food and masks were distributed.

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Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism service said on Sunday it had deployed in the streets of Baghdad to protect important state buildings “from undisciplined elements”. Violence has flared in other areas across the south, with protesters storming and setting fire to party and militia offices, prompting authorities to impose curfews in some areas. Counter-terrorism forces beat and arrested dozens of protesters in the southern city of Nassiriya on Saturday night.

  Guardian