Featuring Sadrists with black outfits, Baghdad witnesses the harbingers of October-commemoration demonstrations
Shafaq News/ Demonstrators thronged the streets of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, since the early hours of Sunday morning to mark the third anniversary of the October 2019 protest.
The demonstrators were seen holding banners and chanting ingenious slogans feting the October protests and denouncing the ruling elite in a mix of defiance and humor.
Followers of the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were seen featuring the gathering with their matched black outfits in its early hours.
Heralding what might seem a bumpy ride for the security forces, the demonstrators knocked down an iron gate put up yesterday on al-Jumhuriyah (Republic) bridge that leads to the Green Zone, a supposedly secure nest for government departments and foreign embassies.
Security authorities ramped up security ahead of the demonstrations slated to take place today. Flat lorries were seen bringing blast walls during the night to be erected around the Green Zone. At some sections, more than one line was put up. Training and deployment drills have been taking place around the heavily fortified Green Zone relentlessly over the past week.
Since yesterday, Iraqi security forces have spread heavily around Baghdad's Green Zone, bracing for a new wave of protests tomorrow on the anniversary of the October (Teshreen) protests.
The movement started on Oct. 1, 2019, demanding political reform, the prime minister's resignation, and an end to foreign interference in Iraqi matters. The broad protests in most southern cities, resulting in over 600 dead and thousands wounded, did lead to the resignation of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
Iraqi activists have been calling for nationwide protests, in order to re-raise the Tishreen Movement demands for political system reform.
Followers of Shiite popular cleric Muqtada Sadr were also lobbying for the October demonstrations. Al-Sadr's Saraya al-Salam (The Peace Companies) faction has also been preparing to protect the demonstrators in several Baghdad areas.
