Iraqi protests hit one year mark
On the anniversary of the start of Iraq's massive protests, Iraqis are preparing for a new wave of demonstrations in Baghdad and other cities.
BAGHDAD — In a heartbreaking scene, long lines of protesters marched in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square holding photos of more than 600 people who were killed in the last year of protests in the capital and other provinces in the south.
Since last week, protesters have been decorating the squares where they have been gathering. In Tahrir, in the heart of Baghdad, dozens of artists are painting new murals and hundreds of demonstrators are cleaning the streets and reorganizing the tents.
Last night, scores of tuktuks, the small vehicles that have become part of the fabric of the protests, paraded in Tahrir Square, proclaiming the uprising will continue until its demands are met.
A year ago, on Oct. 1, 2019, the demonstrations began with Iraqis demanding a "homeland," an end to foreign interference and corruption and the provision of basic services. The demonstrations soon turned into a popular uprising from Baghdad to Basra in the far south of Iraq, including the influential Shiite city of Nasiriyah. It has spread to 10 Iraqi governorates, where the main squares have become the sites of sit-ins and covered in tents.
