Iraq students join anti-government protests

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi students joined anti-government protests in Baghdad on Sunday, ramping up the street pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi who also faced a sit-in and the first resignations from parliament.

The capital and country’s south have been rocked by a second wave of demonstrations since Thursday, with protesters digging in despite tear gas, curfews and violence that has left more than 70 dead.

About a dozen schools and universities decided to shut their doors, activists said Sunday, with some protesting on campus and others heading towards the main gathering spaces for rallies.

In the emblematic Tahrir Square, young girls in school uniforms with rucksacks were seen trekking through streets littered with tear gas canisters.

Later in the day, a spokesman for the prime minister threatened that any further disruption to schools would earn protesters “severe punishment.”

Protesters clung onto Tahrir throughout the day, defying heavy tear gas use and pledging to “weed out” the political class.

“We’re here to bring down the whole government — to weed them all out!” one protester said, the Iraqi tricolor wrapped around his head.

The protests are unprecedented in recent Iraqi history for their ire at the entire political class, including Abdel Mahdi, parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbussi and even traditionally revered religious leaders.

They have also been exceptionally violent, with 157 dead in the first set of rallies and 74 dead in the latest round.

“We don’t want a single one of them. Not Halbussi, not Abdel Mahdi. We want to bring down the regime,” the protester said.