Eight dead in renewed Iraqi protests

BAGHDAD: Eight demonstrators died in renewed rallies across Iraq´s capital and the south on Friday, with the first reported use of live rounds in this wave of protests.

The demonstrations were the second phase of a week-long movement in early October demanding an end to widespread corruption, unemployment and an overhaul of the political system.

Activists urged Iraqis to return to the streets on Friday, which marks a year since Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi came to power. But the rallies began early, with hundreds already gathering in the capital´s iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square on Thursday evening.

On Friday, many crossed the bridge to mass near Baghdad´s Green Zone, which hosts government offices and foreign embassies, but security forces used a volley of tear gas to push them back. "Two demonstrators died, with preliminary information indicating they were hit in the head or face by tear gas canisters," said Ali Bayati, a member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission.

He said nearly 100 more were wounded, but there were no reports of live fire being used to disperse protesters in the capital. In the southern city of Nasiriyah, however, medical and police sources told AFP that five protesters were shot dead and another 18 were wounded.

Thousands had gathered there in the afternoon, setting fire to the government´s provincial headquarters. An eighth protester died of burns sustained when demonstrators set fire to several political party offices in another southern town.

"We´re not hungry -- we want dignity!" a protester shouted in Baghdad on Friday morning, while another lashed out at "the so-called representatives of the people who have monopolised all the resources".

One in five people lives in poverty in Iraq and youth unemployment sits around 25 percent, according to the World Bank. The rates are staggering for OPEC´s second-biggest oil producer, which Transparency International ranks as the 12th most corrupt state in the world. "I want my share of the oil!" another protester told AFP.

Iraq´s highest Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani had set Friday as the deadline for Abdel Mahdi to respond to demonstrators´ demands. In a much-awaited sermon, Sistani´s representative urged protesters and security forces to show "restraint," warning of "chaos" if violence broke out again.