Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

15 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

18 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

18 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

18 hours ago

Pew: US Immigrant Population Declines for First Time in Nearly 60 Years

21 hours ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

23 hours ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

23 hours ago

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

23 hours ago

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

2 days ago
Iraq's Top Cleric Urges Calm as Deadly Clashes Continue
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 4, 2019

Share

BAGHDAD — Security forces opened fire on hundreds of anti-government demonstrators Friday in central Baghdad, killing one protester, hours after Iraq’s top Shiite cleric warned both sides to end four days of deadly violence “before it’s too late.”

At least 43 people have died in clashes during the continuing protests, which represent the most serious challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s government on its first anniversary in power.
At least 43 people have died in clashes during the continuing protests, which represent the most serious challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s government on its first anniversary in power.
In a televised address to the country early Friday, he said the protesters’ “legitimate demands” had been heard and they should go home, adding that the security measures used against the demonstrations were like “bitter medicine” that needs to be swallowed.
Security forces fired directly at people trying to reach the capital’s central Tahrir Square, which was sealed off, hitting a protester in the head and wounding four others, according to police and hospital officials.
The protesters, many of whom had camped on the streets overnight, gathered before noon near Tahrir in defiance of Abdul-Mahdi’s call and a curfew that was announced earlier.
Since the spontaneous rallies began Tuesday, security forces have fired live rounds and tear gas every day to disperse them in multiple provinces. The mostly young demonstrators are demanding jobs, improved services like electricity and water, and an end to corruption in the oil-rich country.

Al-Sistani Singles out Leaders of Two Biggest Parliament Blocs

Authorities have also cut internet access in much of Iraq since Wednesday night, in a desperate move to curb the rallies.
Iraq’s most senior Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged both sides to end the violence, and he blamed politicians, particularly lawmakers, for failing to enact promised reforms on the economy and corruption. The comments were his first since the protests began, and many across Iraq’s predominantly Shiite south had looked to the influential cleric for guidance.
Al-Sistani singled out the leaders of the two biggest parliament blocs.
“The government and the political sides have not fulfilled the demands of the people to fight corruption,” al-Sistani said in his Friday sermon, delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
Al-Sistani urged the government to “carry out its duty” to ease people’s suffering and reiterated his call for a committee of technocrats to make recommendations on fighting corruption as a way out of the current crisis.
It was not immediately clear whether his comments would give momentum to protesters or help resolve the situation.
Later, an influential Shiite cleric whose Sairoon political bloc came in first in last year’s national elections said he was suspending participation in parliamentary activities until the government introduces a program that serves Iraqi aspirations.

Hospital Officials Say Deaths Occurred Thursday

Muqtada al-Sadr asked members of his coalition to boycott sessions until the government issues a program acceptable to the people. Sairoon won the largest single bloc of seats last year, with 54 of the 329-seat parliament.
Meanwhile, Iraqi hospital officials reported nine more deaths in the southern city of Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad.

“The security measures we are taking, including temporary curfew, are difficult choices. But like bitter medicine, they are inevitable. We have to return life to normal in all provinces and respect the law.” — Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi
Hospital officials said the deaths occurred Thursday night in the city, which has seen the most violence with at least 25 people killed, including a policeman. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
In his address, Abdul-Mahdi said there was “no magic solution” to Iraq’s problems but pledged to work on laws granting poor families a basic income, provide alternative housing to violators and fight corruption.
“We will not make empty promises … or promise what we cannot achieve,” said Abdul-Mahdi, a native of Nasiriyah.
“The security measures we are taking, including temporary curfew, are difficult choices. But like bitter medicine, they are inevitable,” he said. “We have to return life to normal in all provinces and respect the law.”

Mostly Leaderless Protests Concentrated in Baghdad

He also defended the security forces, saying they abide by strict rules against use of “excessive violence.” He blamed protesters for escalating the bloodshed.
He also said, without elaborating, that he “regrets some have successfully derailed some of the protests from their peaceful path” in order to “exploit” the violence for political reasons.
Abdul-Mahdi’s government has been caught in the middle of increasing U.S.-Iran tensions in the region. Iraq is allied with both countries and hosts thousands of U.S. troops, as well as powerful paramilitary forces allied with Iran.
The mostly leaderless protests have been concentrated in Baghdad and the south, bringing out jobless youths and university graduates who are suffering under an economy reeling from graft and mismanagement.
In Nasiriyah, protester Haidar Hamid dismissed the prime minister’s speech, saying he was looking to Shiite religious leaders for a resolution.
“If the government is not dissolved, we will avenge our martyrs,” said Hamid, who is 32 and unemployed.
A group that monitors internet and cybersecurity, NetBlocks, said the internet in most of Iraq was briefly restored before Abdul-Mahdi’s speech but access was shut down again by the time he was onscreen, apparently after new videos of the protests emerged. The internet in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region has not been affected.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

DON'T MISS

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

DON'T MISS

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

DON'T MISS

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

DON'T MISS

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

DON'T MISS

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego to Be Released Soon, Lawyer Says

DON'T MISS

Remembering Ron McCary, Who Did It All for KMJ

UP NEXT

Canada to Remove Many Retaliatory Tariffs on US Goods, Says Source

UP NEXT

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

UP NEXT

More Americans Applying for Refugee Status in Canada, Data Shows

UP NEXT

US Issues More Iran-Related Sanctions

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Says Israel to Begin Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations to End War, Release Hostages

UP NEXT

Israel Bombards Gaza City Ahead of Planned Offensive

UP NEXT

Putin’s Demand to Ukraine: Give up Donbas, No NATO and No Western Troops, Sources Say

UP NEXT

James Dobson, American Evangelical Activist, Dies at 89

UP NEXT

Top Dem on Oversight Committee Demands Trump Administration Account for Wildland Firefighter Vacancies

UP NEXT

Poll: California Dems Favor Newsom Over Harris in 2028 Matchup

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

17 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

17 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

18 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

18 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

18 hours ago

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego to Be Released Soon, Lawyer Says

19 hours ago

Remembering Ron McCary, Who Did It All for KMJ

19 hours ago

I Was Preyed On for My VA Benefits. California Can Stop It

19 hours ago

Texas Senate Debates Redistricting Bill, Is Expected to Pass It Easily

19 hours ago

Trump: DC Mayor Bowser Must Get Act Together or Won’t Be Mayor Anymore

19 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

A driver ran a red light Friday at the intersection of Herndon and West avenues, clipping another vehicle before crashing into a nearby buil...

15 hours ago

15 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

15 hours ago

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo
16 hours ago

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

First responders work at the scene of a bus crash on the New York State Thruway about 30 miles east of Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday afternoon, Aug. 22, 2025. The tour bus traveling from Niagara Falls to New York City crashed on a highway outside Buffalo on Friday, killing multiple passengers, including at least one child, and leaving some people trapped beneath the vehicle, officials said. (Lauren Petracca/The New York Times)
17 hours ago

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

On Friday, August 22, 2025, Fresno firefighters contained a house fire on East Cambridge Avenue, preventing major damage and reporting no injuries. (Fresno Fire)
17 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

Fresno heat hot heatwave High Humidity
18 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link during her arraignment hearing in Manhattan Federal Court, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. July 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend